The Secret to Survival
by HunterofLight123
Summary: Isable Kabra has escaped. She is now after her grandson, Andy, for reasons unknown. And what's worse is his father has no clue he even exists and cannot protect him. It's now up to Andy, his mother and a few other Cahills to protect him. Will his father ever find out about him? Or will it be too late? COMPLETE. Might be edited.
1. Prologue

The Secret to Survival

Summary:

Alexander "Andy" Cahill is the son of Ian and Amy, only he was kept secret from everyone except Amy and Dan. When Andy turns ten years old, Isabel escapes prison and threatens to kill the people Natalie and Ian love if they don't help her. As leverage, Isabel tries to get her hands on Amy. Follow Andy as he jumps from place to place in his mother's effort to hide him. Will he escape Isabel's clutches? Will he ever meet his father?

**Prologue **

Amy Cahill, age eighteen, was heading off to collage. Her eyes were red and puffy. She was leaving her younger brother, Dan, for a few months at a time. It was the first time they'd been away from each other for more than a few days.

Dan Cahill was sad to see his sister go. When he was four years old and Amy seven, they'd lost their parents in a fire. Amy had looked after him ever since. She'd kept by his side. Together, they'd found the 39 Clues and defeated the Vespers. But now, they were going separate ways, and they wouldn't see each other for at least a couple of weeks.

Amy was heading off to France to study law. She had a fascination with the justice system since she had read about her parents' murderer, Isabel Kabra's trail. She had gotten thirty-five years for the murders of Hope Cahill, Arthur Trent, Irina Spazky and Lester. Isabel had also gotten two years each for the attempted murders of Amy, Dan and Fiske Cahill, Jonah Wizard, Ned, Ted, and Sinead Starling, Alistair Oh, and the Holt family. She'd nearly killed her own kids, Ian and Natalie.

She'd be in jail for approximately sixty-five years.

Fiske and Nellie helped Amy with her bags, and Dan stood watching. Amy shared a hug with Nellie and Fiske. She opened her arms out to Dan.

Dan walked into them. Amy started to cry again. "Stop being such a girl, Amy." Dan whispered to her. Amy gave a watery smile and jumped into the taxi waiting for her. She waved until she couldn't see them anymore.

Amy Cahill kept contact with then for nearly three years, and then they never heard from her again.


	2. Andy

Thanks to bookgirl39 and goodgirlgonebad95 for reviewing.

** Unfortunately, I don't own the 39 Clues.**

My mother has always been a bit over-protective. But it was my eleventh year that I started to think that maybe she was going a bit crazy. Don't get me wrong—I love my mom—but….

I think I should just tell you from the beginning.

I was sitting on the table, doing homework. It was my tenth birthday last week and mom had bought me a gigantic cake I we were still eating it. I was licking the icing off the plate when something on the T.V. caught my attention.

"…Isabel Kabra has been missing since last week. Police say she is armed and highly dangerous. She stole a gun from a local police officer. Kabra was charged for the deaths of four people and the attempted murders of quite a few people…"

_Hmm, a murderer? _I thought. I didn't think it was very important then and jus continued on with my homework, that way I didn't have to do it in the morning and be late for school. Then there'd be no girls to chase me.

Why do girls chase me? I have no clue. My friend Minnie said she overheard a girl names Ashley Simmones talking to another girl names Kara Hedlin about how "hot" I was. I don't think I'm "hot". Gosh, I'm only ten! I asked my mom about it and she smiled, saying I was her "handsome little man". I didn't really look like my mom. Her hair was auburn, a thin face and shining green eyes. She's very pretty.

I had caramel skin and hazel eyes. They're nearly green, and it looks quite strange with my complexion. My hair is jet black.

Mom tells me about my family. She shows me pictures of her brother—my uncle. He has dark blonde hair, and green eyes, like mom. His face is rounder than mine or mom's, and he had a smirk on—kind of mischievous. His name's Dan.

Speaking of my family, I've never met them. Mom promises I will soon. She says Uncle Dan would love to have us visit. I don't know Uncle Dan, but with all the things Mom always says about him, I'm eager to meet him.

There are also the pictures of the woman with blonde and black hair. That was Nellie, and she took care of my mom and uncle when they were younger. Mom also has a few pictures of the old man named Fiske, who's my mom and Dan's uncle.

After I'd finished my homework, I flopped on the couch and flipped though the channels. Things about that murderer Isabel Kabra kept popping up.

My mouth hung open for nearly thirty minutes when I heard this:

"_Mrs. Kabra was also charged for the attempted murders Amy, Dan and Fiske Cahill…"_

**Ahhh, this chapter wasn't all that good, but I'm only starting. Anonymous reviews are welcome! **


	3. Strange Things

**Thanks for all the reviews, and the people who reviewed. HUGS AND KISSES. XOXO.**

"Anything interesting on the news, Andy?" Mom asked as she came in from her job, placing her keys on the coffee table and glancing at me as she took off her jacket.

There was a lump in my throat and it prevented me from speaking for a few seconds. Swallowing, I said, "Nothing Mom. Just the normal stuff." I wondered whether I should tell her…

"This lady escaped from prison—Isabel Kabra." I continued. Mom paled. "Are you okay, mom?"

She looked as if she were somewhere else. There was a flash of fear in her eyes, but maybe I was imagining it. She gave me a smile. "I'm okay, honey." She mussed my hair and walked into her room.

Something was definitely wrong.

The next day, as I was heading out to school, Mom stopped me. "Andy, be careful alright? If anyone that you don't know—."

"I know, mom." I said, a bit annoyed. She'd been giving me this speech for as long as I could remember. Stay away from strangers. Tell me if anything weird happens. If someone starts to look at you strangely, or acts strangely towards you, _tell me._ I had to trust no one, she told me. No teachers or friends.

"Okay Andy," She said, looking a bit hurt. I felt sorry I'd snapped at her. She wanted to keep me safe because she didn't want to lose me.

"Sorry mom." I said, giving her a small hug.

"Its okay, Andy." She gave me a smile that looked forced. "Get going now. See you soon!" She stood the door, waving. I ran to school, and kept looking back at her until I rounded the corner.

_NOTES: _

_Strange People (1)_

_Gym teacher. BIG beefy guy. Loves football._

_English teacher. Pretty, with red hair and blue eyes. Says she admires Albert Einstein_

_Mysterious men following me around_

_-Andy_

**Chapter 3, done!**


	4. The Past is Back

**To answer some questions, Amy lost contact with Dan to keep him and Andy safe, since the people who worked with Isabel were after them. No one knows about Andy except Dan. I'm not sure if the other clue hunters will be in this, but Dan, Natalie, Ian, Isabel and Hamilton will. I'm still thinking about Nellie…**

**I think that soon, the action will start. You know what'll happen, Isabel's going to find out about Andy, and Amy will have to keep him safe. I can't reveal too much, sorry :)**

I met Minnie at our usual spot by the school doors. I looked around to see if those creepy men were there. Fortunately, they weren't.

"Hey, Mins." I said, giving her a smile.

"Andy," She said. "Any girls today?" I knew she was trying hard not to laugh at me right now.

"Nope," I said. "No girls to chase me. It's going to be a good day."

We talked about the usual stuff—school, T.V., the newest video games. Some boys thought it was weird to have a best friend that was a girl, but I'd known Minnie for nearly my entire life. She was the best friend I could ever have.

Minnie had raven hair, like mine. She was dark skinned, like me. Her eyes were a coffee brown colour, _un_like me. Sometimes, we could pass for siblings, or even cousins. Minnie was a tom-boy who wore baggy clothes. She can pass for an Indian, although she isn't.

Minnie, like me, is an only child, raised by a single mom. Minnie looks a lot like her mom and even acts like her sometimes. About once a week, I go to Minnie's house, and Miss. Liz bakes us cookies. She wanted me to call her Liz, but I felt so uncomfortable that I started calling her MISS. Liz.

The bell rings. First period, Minnie has art, but I have gym. She heads to the art room, while I walk over to the gym.

Last year, Mr. Mills taught us, but now it's a much younger guy about my mom's age. "My name's Hamilton, but you have to call me Mr. Holt. That sucks." The gym teacher had said on the first day of school.

As he read out the names on the attendance, he paused for a long time on my name, "Cahill, Alexander?"

"Andy." I corrected. Then he stared at me for a long time too. He seemed…surprised.

"Well class, today we'll be playing football." Mr. Holt announced. His eyes still darted to me, total confusion on his face that got me confused.

My skill in football was a little over average. I was pretty good, since I'd spent nearly all my life running. Catching was no big deal.

I can't forget how surprised Mr. Holt was. "Dan and Amy. So much like them..." He'd whispered. "The eyes... But everything else is your dad."

"Dad?" I asked. I knew he was talking about the dad I'd never known and Uncle Dan, who I'd never seen only in pictures. My eyes... they were nearly hazel, mixed with my mom's green that I'd seen on Dan too, and brown flecks.

"I need to speak to your mother," He'd said. "An issue about her family."

This guy was freaking me out. I put off telling my mom. He made attempts to speak to me later, but I'd always managed to avoid them.

I finally did tell her—today. Two months after he'd spoken to me. I didn't tell her about the other men following me though.

"Andy," she said, her voice low and shaking. "Go into my room. You'll see a suitcase. Take it and pack your things. We're moving."

** I know right! AMY, TALK TO HAMILTON! He has REALLY important news for her. Like REALLY. Sorry, I can't tell. What other clue hunters do you want in this? REVIEW and tell me!**

** ~Hunter**


	5. Cahills

** This took me so long to type! It was two whole pages! Enjoy!**

**FIVE—HAMILTON HOLT AND SINEAD STARLING—6:46 PM—Vancouver**

A single man stood in the hallway, leaning against the wall. The light rested on him, and you can see that he was a big man with a beefy body. He whistles to himself, possibly waiting for somebody, you think. As he taps his foot against to floor, you know your guess was right. You know that this man is Hamilton Holt, the boys' gym teacher. TOMAS.

"He's gone," A voice says. The man turns to see a red-haired woman who appears beside him. The woman continues, "Amy took him and ran." You pull out your phone and take a picture, careful not to make any noise. 'ID: Sinead Starling. EKATERINA. Teacher of History,' the phone says.

"But why?" Hamilton Holt asks. "We aren't going to hurt her…"

"She doesn't know that."

Hamilton looks at her, "Sinead, your eyes aren't that colour…"

"It's a special Ekat device—contact lenses Dolt." Sinead rolls her fake baby blue eyes.

There was silence for a while.

"How will we find him?" Sinead wondered out loud.

"Minerva Jacobs." Hamilton answers with a grin.

"Excuse me?"

"She's Andy's best friend. We could possibly track him through her." Hamilton clarifies.

Sinead nods, and smiles too. "Maybe you're not a Dolt after all…"

'TARGET COMFERMED: MINEVERA JACOBS', you send that to Isabel, knowing she'll be pleased. If you're lucky, she won't murder your family after this and set you and them free.

If you're lucky.

**FOUR—OFFICER RYAN WOODS—11:57 AM—Isabel's prison cell, New York**

Officer Ryan Woods studies the prison cell in which Mrs. Isabel Kabra escaped from. The bars in the middle look as if they were melted, so that explains how Kabra escaped. How she got this substance/object that helped her escape was another question.

The prison guard was no help. He claimed he didn't see anything. As he says this, his eyes don't look at Ryan's, but the Officer doesn't notice—he's too busy scribbling in his notepad. It's a rookie mistake.

"Does she have any children?" Ryan was asked later.

"Two actually." Ryan answers. "Ian and Natalie Kabra."

"Were they notified?"

"Not yet."

"Then why are you still here?"

Officer Ryan Woods rushes to tell them. _As if they didn't see it on the news already,_ he thinks.

**THREE—JONAH WIZARD—10:50 PM—New York**

Jonah Wizard was terrified.

Isabel Kabra had held a gun to his chest.

_It was just a dream,_ he told himself. _Just a dream._

But that didn't slow down his pounding heart.

"_Tell me where the Cahill girl is!"_ Isabel had shrieked. Jonah didn't know. Amy had just disappeared one day. No one knew where she was, and Dan never gave up looking. That was nearly eleven years ago.

"_I don't know!"_ Jonah had cried in complete terror. This woman scared him as much as his mother did.

Then he woke up.

**TWO—IAN AND NATALIE KABRA—3:18 PM—London**

The officer had come just yesterday to warn her and Ian of Isabel's escape.

Of course, they'd already known. Isabel had arrived on their doorstep with two guns pointed at their chests. _"If you don't help me, I'll kill the ones you love the most."_ Natalie Kabra knew that her mother thought they were weak, but she and her brother were now human. They weren't going to let people die.

She knew her brother was thinking about that girl. Ten years hadn't changed anything.

Isabel was hiding out in one of the rooms in their mansion. The officer didn't have a search warrant—all Natalie had to do was pretend she wasn't there. It wasn't hard because the officer—what was it that those Americans said?—he wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Right now, Natalie was busy devising a plan to get Ian and her away from Isabel.

**ONE—DAN CAHILL—6:15 PM-Boston**

AMY CAHILL

Dan was desperate. Taking out his old, beat up laptop, he'd typed in his sister's name.

He remembered the letter she'd left for Nellie, Fiske and him.

_Dear Dan, Nellie and Fiske,_

_You wouldn't understand and I can't tell you, because you'd try to stop me, or help. But if you do, you'll be in danger._

_Dan, don't look for me. I know you will, but I'm begging you not to. I'm your sister, and I'll always love you, but this is something I've got to do alone. I hope you'll understand someday why I must do this, but please Dan, take care of yourself. Don't do anything you'll regret._

_Nellie, you are like a sister to me. You always took care of us. Thank you so much. _

_Fiske, you weren't a failure. You are the perfect uncle. You never lost me like Mom and Grace. _

_I hope I'll see you all again someday._

_Love,_

_Amy_

Scrolling down, he found the headline: ALEXANDER CAHILL MADE FASTEST BOY IN VANCOVER.

_Must be another Cahill_, Dan said. And ignoring the headline, he scrolled down looking for anything about his sister.

**Wow! Long chapter!**

**Did you like it?**

**I'm going to have Andy in the next chapter, and in the one after that, he meets Dan hopefully! YAY!**

**I think that this story will be about 20 chapters. There's going to be lots of twists.**

**Please review!**

**~Hunter**


	6. Meet Dan

**Thanks for all who reviewed. I really appreciate it! People, I updated!**

**LONG CHAPTER, SO HERE IT GOES!**

Two Months Later

_Dear Mins,_

_school's over, finally! it isn't as fun without you. New York is so cool. THE Jonah Wizard is doing a concert here. I asked mom if i could go. she said maybe. she said she knew him before she had me._

_Stephan says hi._

—A

_~email from Alexander Cahill to Minerva Jacobs_

_New Target: Stephan Mill_

Two weeks ago, mom and I'd moved to New York. I was sad to leave Minnie, since I'd known her for my whole life. I still send her tons of emails—about one a day.

I was until yesterday that I noticed strange people in dark clothes following me. I didn't want to tell my mom. She looked so pale these days—worried. I didn't want to give her any more worries.

She'd gotten a day job, and it ended just as my school did, so she got to pick me up.

Today was the day everything went wrong.

My new friend Stephan and I were talking as we walked out of the school. I was still sad about leaving Vancouver. I couldn't stop thinking about Minnie.

Stephan's nothing like her. He's really pale with light blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He has freckles scattered messily around his face. He's a little on the cubby side. He has a long hooked nose, but he's actually very nice.

Something that is still the same is the way the girls look at me.

It's _**freaky**_.

I wished I could've left that at Vancouver.

Mom was parked almost directly in front of the school. I turned to Stephan and said, "Well, there's my mom. See you tomorrow Stephan!" He smiled and waved.

I turned back to my mom's car and started to jog towards it when I heard something swoosh past my right ear. Someone screamed. Turning around, I looked to see my friend Stephan on the ground, not moving. Shock filled my body. I started to move towards him, opening my mouth to yell, but felt a stiff hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see mom standing there, fear spread all over her face, "Let's go, Andy!" It was in her voice too.

"NO, what about Stephan?" I cried, still trying to run towards my friend. Blood was seeping out of his chest and his brown eyes were dull and lifeless. His mouth was left in a grim line, not the smile I'd last seen on his face. Tears filled my eyes, and I felt like a girl for crying. I lump formed in my throat and I choked out a sob as hot tears streamed down my face, blinding me of a moment.

"Nothing can be done. I'm sorry, Andy." She truly did sound sorry, which made me think she was in my shoes once. She pulled me away from the scene and put me in the backseat of the car. I put my seatbelt on as she rushed to the front seat.

My eyes were blurry, and I couldn't make out a lot, but I saw a big crowd of people surrounding what I knew had to be Stephan's body. When we were driving away, I turned around to look out the back windows. My heart was thumping quickly. That bullet was meant for me, wasn't it?

Swallowing my tears I turned to Mom. "Mom, they tried to kill me!" I yelled at her. She glanced at me and sighed.

"I think it's time I told you what's going on here."

_Once there was a family. The mother named Olivia, and the father Gideon. They had four children named Luke, Katherine, Thomas and Jane. They were all so different. Luke was sneaky and often not trusted, Katherine was very intelligent, Thomas was strong, but slower than the others, and lastly, little Jane was the artist who could see good in almost anything._

_ Gideon was a scientist who was working on a serum that could cure a plague that was killing the villagers where he lived. Testing it out on himself, he found it made him stronger and made him fell younger, but the more he used it, the sicker he grew._

_ His friend, Damien, wanted the serum for himself, as it would make him the most powerful man in the world. Gideon refused to give it to him, so he knew he'd have to kill him. _

_ Gideon gave each of his four children a part of the serum, and told his family that they all would have to leave without him. Late at night, when Gideon was in his lab, Luke found him. Gideon told his eldest son to get the family out and it they had no choice, to leave without him. Luke had already drunk his part of the serum, and it got him even sneakier._

_ Luke gathered the family, and was leading them away when they all heard the explosion. Damien had found Gideon and Gideon had exploded his laboratory, in hopes that Damien would never find the serum. _

_ The family went back, and the siblings blamed Luke, thinking he was responsible for the death of their father. He left. Jane, the sibling he was closest to, raced after him. Olivia sent Katherine after them, and she returned saying that they'd left. Katherine and Thomas later left, their anger blinding them._

_ Olivia was left alone. No one knew that she was with child. The child was a girl, and Olivia named her Madeleine. She raised Madeleine to think that reuniting the family was very important, and when Olivia died, the task was left to her._

_ Madeleine failed to get the family together, but her descendants kept trying. And only just recently, did two succeed. _

"That's a sad story mom," I told her. "But what has this got to do with me?"

She was silent, and I decided not to push her. Leaning to look out the window, I realized I had no idea where we were going.

"Mom, where are we going?"

"Boston," She answered, pulling in front of an airport. "I packed some of the necessities for you just in case. Some clothes, a toothbrush et cetera."

"_Mom?_"

She grabbed me and hauled me inside the airport, with a duffel bag in hand. Stopping at a desk, she said, "I would like to buy two tickets to Boston."

The girl behind the counter looked up. She had black hair and pale skin. She wore dark clothes and makeup. Her nametag said, "MARIE". Chewing on her gum, she said, "The one at 4:00, or the late one at 11:30?"

Looking at my watch, I saw it was 3:56. My mom must have looked too, because she said, "The one at 4:00. Andy, we've got to hurry. Only four minutes!" She quickly paid for the tickets. Grabbing my hand, she rushed us towards that tunnel area where you get aboard the plane. I took one last look at NYC, before the plane lifted off.

Aboard the plane, mom explained to me more about the family. There were five branches, one for every sibling. Lucians for Luke, Ekaterina for Katherine, Tomas for Thomas, Janus for Jane, and lastly, Madrigal for Madeleine. Each branch had people who were actually descended from the siblings. Mom was a Madrigal, and she was descended from Madeleine. She said that only the Madrigals had people who weren't descended from the siblings. Her friend Nellie was one of them. I wasn't sure whether to believe what she was saying or not, but if your mom had told you that, would you have believed her? Exactly.

When the plane landed, Mom rented a car and we drove for a long time. Finally, she stopped in front of a big house, with a large gate. There was a large speaker there, and Mom said she was here on Madrigal business.

The gate opened, and Mom drove up to the steps. Getting out of the car, she took me by the hand again, and took me up the stairs. After ringing the doorbell, a bald-headed butler answered. She said something that I couldn't make out. He went back into the house, and a blonde-haired man appeared.

I recognized him from the pictures.

Gasping, the man reached out and hugged Mom, who looked tearful.

"Amy, it's been a long time." The man said after they let go. Then his eyes, jade green like Mom's, found me. His eyes widened.

"Yes Dan, it has. Meet your nephew, Alexander, or Andy. He's the reason I've been away."

** Like? Don't Like?**

**OMG. My chapters just seem to be getting longer and longer.**

** I'm sad about Stephan, but I wanted you to know how ruthless Isabel is (yes, Isabel killed him), and it was either him, or Minnie. Ian and Natalie managed to protect her, but they didn't know about Stephan. Ian and Natalie don't want people to die. **

** Yay, now you see that Andy met Dan. Now for Dan's reaction….**

** Oh, bookgirl39, Amy was careful.**

**Ballet Reader, I know that it sound OOC, but…you probably know… caught up in the moment…**

** omg-KITTENS, I will put Nellie in for sure! **

** Sleepy Clouds, you were right. I should have put this in the last chapter. Sorry!**

** REVIEW!**

** ~Hunter**


	7. What's SHE up to?

**Sorry for not updating. It's been nearly two weeks, right? Well, this is it. Nearly the end. YAY!**

_Dear Andy,_

_ You wouldn't believe what happened two days ago. I nearly died! I know, it sounds awesome, but I was REALLY scared. But this man and woman saved me. Strange…now that I think about it, they kind of looked like YOU. Seriously. No joke._

_ Email soon,_

_ **Min-E**_

_ ~email from Minerva Jacobs to Alexander Cahill (sent), and forwarded to Isabel Kabra_

_ Dear Flannigan,_

_ Amazing job getting these emails, maybe I won't kill your family. Now bring me my children, I need to speak to them about them saving this Minerva Jacobs. _

_ ~Isabel Kabra_

**THREE—MINERVA JACOBS—4:48 PM—Vancouver **

Minnie had never been so scared in her life. Had those people tried to _kill_ her?

When Andy had left, she'd held her head high at school and continued in her usual tasks, but she couldn't help but feel lonely.

Well of course she'd be lonely! Her best friend for ten years had gotten up and moved, with only just a phone call telling her so.

They had never tried to make new friends—well, SHE hadn't. People thought she was strange with her tomboy clothes and her single mom. But Andy and she had so much in common. Their fathers were absent, and their mothers raised them. They liked video games and race cars. They were good kids—always completing their homework and getting good grades.

Now Minnie was all alone.

She'd kill him.

~~~.~~~.~~~.~~~

**TWO—IAN KABRA—8:59 PM—London**

After his and Natalie's quick trip to Canada, in hopes to save a young girl (which were fulfilled), Ian found himself getting more and more confused. Why was his "darling" mummy, who'd just broken out of jail, trying to murder _a little girl?_ She wasn't even part of their family!

This reminded him of that man Isabel had gotten killed. What was his name? Leslie? Lester—that was it.

His mind travelled to the Cahill siblings, Daniel and Amy. Daniel he hadn't seen in over five years, and the girl Amy, nearly ten.

He nearly drifted off to sleep, but awoke to Flannigan's gun at his neck, "Your 'mummy' is calling."

**ONE—DAN CAHILL—8:54 PM—Boston (PRESENT)**

"_What?"_

Dan's eyes widened even more. He was sure they would look as if they were about to pop out of his head.

"Sorry Andy," Amy said, patting her son's shoulders. "Dan's a little in shock right now."

Dan opened his mouth to speak, but closed it. This went on for about a dozen times. Then Dan finally found his voice, saying, "What do you expect me to do, Amy? I haven't seen you in ten years—no one has. No you show up on my doorstep (well, Fiske's), and tell me you had a _son_!"

"Sorry," Amy said, sounding a bit tired. "But I didn't want anyone to find out about him. Can I speak to you inside, please?"

Dan thought for a moment. "Er…okay. Sure—but don't try anything!" He backed up and let them inside. Amy grinned, gently pushing Andy inside before her. Now Dan got a better look at the kid—his nephew. Andy sure did remind him of three certain people at the first glance. He saw that Andy had black hair and light cinnamon coloured skin. At the second glance, Dan saw his eyes were a hazel-ish colour. They were half-green with dark green irises, and flecked with brown—or was it amber? Gold maybe?

"How are you doing?" He asked Andy, in a terrible British accent.

The kid looked confused, "Fine, I guess."

Amy glared at Dan, which gave him the full message. "You didn't tell him?" He asked, nearly in a shout.

"Of course not!" His sister cried. Her voice dropped into a whisper, in which only Dan could hear, "I didn't want _her_ people to find out about him. Or any of the other branches. They might find him a threat."

Dan knew what she meant. Andy was of two branches—Madrigal and Lucian—so he has some very good traits. Amy didn't want any of Isabel's people to find out about her son. Perhaps they would harm the boy. Dan mentally shivered thinking about it. Isabel would kill his nephew, or if he was lucky, just turn him into a ruthless Lucian, like she tried with Ian and Natalie. She'd turn Andy into _her_.

Leaving the boy in the massive living room with the butler's son Langley as company, Amy and Dan sat down for a long talk. "So…" Dan said. "He's Isabel's grandson." He handed Amy a cup of steaming coffee, after seeing how tired his sister looked.

Amy nodded grimly, taking a sip of her coffee, "I don't want her to hurt him."

"Do any of the other branches know about him?" Dan asked gently.

"Hamilton and Sinead probably know. They worked at his school. Andy said that Ham was his gym teacher, and Sinead was his English teacher." Amy looked like she felt she was a failure. She stared into her coffee mug.

Dan patted her on the back, but then said words that Amy didn't want to hear, "So Isabel will find out about him soon, then."

"Is there _any_ way to protect him, Dan?" She asked, looking into her brother's eyes, _begging_ for his help.

"If Fiske was here he'd know what to do." Dan said to him self softly.

"What do you mean? What's wrong with Fiske?" Amy cried.

"I thought you knew!" Dan did a mental face-palm. He didn't want to break it to her in this way. He thought that she had known, but now that he was thinking about it, she never mentioned anything that would make him feel that she'd known.

"Ames," Dan said, leaning over. "Fiske—his funeral was just a few months ago. He's gone."

**I'm sad. Today was Oprah's final show. *sob* It was so good. I also feel sad about Fiske, and I've now decided that I want at least five reviews before I continue, please!**

_**I've now decided that I want at least five reviews before I continue, please!**_

_**.**_

_**I've now decided that I want at least five reviews before I continue, please!**_

_**.**_

_**I've now decided that I want at least five reviews before I continue, please!**_

_**.**_

_**I've now decided that I want at least five reviews before I continue, please!**_

** Thanks for reading. Like, dislike? REVIEW!**

** ~Hunter **


	8. Targets and Confusion

**I want to thank all of you that reviewed. It really encouraged me. URGG, I'm getting mushy. But still thanks! I love you all.**

_Mins,_

_ I think it's not a coincidence that I was nearly killed too! And you know the Mr. Holt and Miss. Starling? Turns out I'm kind of RELATED to them. I met my Uncle Dan and I'm now in Boston. _

_ ~Andy out_

_ ~~email from Alexander Cahill to Minerva Jacobs. Forwarded to Isabel Kabra._

"Ian, Natalie," Isabel grinned at her grown-up children, who were in front of a gun held up by Flannigan. "I want you to head to Boston, and bring back Amy and Daniel Cahill. I would like to question them."

"No," Ian said in a clear voice.

"My dears," Isabel sneered. "I'm afraid you have no choice. I have servants at a train station right now. And I won't hurt them, I only want," She paused. "Some answers."

She could tell her children didn't trust her, but they didn't know what she would do to those people in the train station.

"Oh, and one other thing," Isabel continued. "I also want you to bring back a child named Alexander Cahill, the son of Amy."

"_What?_" Natalie screeched.

"Amy has a _son_?" Ian cried.

Isabel sighed. She knew her son had feelings for the girl, but seriously, this was getting out of hand. She knew many things about her grandson—how he looked, who this friends were, how he acted. She knew she would never be able to make him a ruthless Lucian like she was. He was Amy's son, and she knew that the pathetic girl had raised him to believe that there would always be rainbows in the sky.

"H-How old is he?" Ian asked. "Do you know?" The boy—well man now—was begging. How very un-Lucian like.

Rolling her eyes, Isabel replied smoothly, "And what would be the importance of that, Ian? Now you and your sister do as I say, and bring me back those Cahills. Or those people at the train station die." She pronounced the last word with coldness. She didn't care who lived or died, as long as it wasn't her.

"How do we know that your people are at the train station? How do we know that you're not lying?" Natalie asked, keeping her head in the game.

"Isabel lowered a screen. Natalie and Ian were sure to see Kiara and Michael, along with Gibbons, waiting patiently, leaning against a wall. "Agents?"

_"Awaiting commands, Isabel." _Kiara answered.

Now she saw that her children believed her. Ian headed out to leave, seeming a bit distracted, but Natalie had one last question, "How do we know who Alexander is?"

"Trust me," Isabel said. "You will know."

** Another chapter so fast, right. I know, I'm amazing. Just **kidding**.**

** Same as last time.**

_**At least 5 reviews! I don't care if it's anonymous, just please REVIEW!**_

_**.**_

_**At least 5 reviews! I don't care if it's anonymous, just please REVIEW!**_

_**.**_

_**At least 5 reviews! I don't care if it's anonymous, just please REVIEW!**_

_**.**_

_**At least 5 reviews! I don't care if it's anonymous, just please REVIEW!**_

_**.**_

_**At least 5 reviews! I don't care if it's anonymous, just please REVIEW!**_

**All the questions you all have, I'll answer them another time. Sorry.**

**Thank you all,**

**~Hunter.**


	9. Attacked, and Nellie

**You have no idea how hard this chapter was. Thanks for all the reviews. Nearly 60 so far! Thanks people!**

_Andy,_

_ That's so weird. I remember the lady saying, "I can't believe her!", and the man just nodding his head. Things are getting so strange, it's scaring me! I hate not knowing what's going on! All the kids aren't helping either, and you know Miss. Starling left the school, but Mr. Holt is sticking to me like glue. Right after I nearly DIED, he was talking to the man, and they both seemed to agree on something._

_ SO CONFUSED (email soon),_

_ **MIN-E**_

_Mins,_

_ my mom said that she's going to tor the world and make ppl think that im with her. still living with Uncle Dan. so confused too! it's getting me annoyed, and it's hard to make me annoyed! i_

I was still typing my message on Uncle Dan's beat up laptop when Uncle Dan himself entered the room.

"Alexander, what are you doing?" He asked, leaning over to see what I was doing.

"I'm emailing my friend Minnie." I said, still typing. Dan took the computer from me, much to my dismay.

"Amy told me about how your friend Stephan died," He said, exiting my email page. "And I think that for Minnie's own good, you should cut ties from her. You don't want her to get hurt."

"Are you saying that I'm responsible for nearly getting her killed?" I asked, anger shook my voice. I couldn't believe that this man, my uncle, was already ordering me around like I was one of his servants. Stephan had died in front of my eyes, and Minnie would've died if it weren't for those two adults who'd saved her.

"What?" Dan cried. "Who tried to kill her?"

"I don't know," I grumbled. "But these two people saved her."

"I'm sorry, Alexander," Dan said. "But you have to under—"

"No," I nearly yelled. "I _don't_ understand. Why are people trying to kill us? How are me and my friends involved in this? Why do mom and I have to keep running?"

Uncle Dan sighed, "Amy told me she told you about the founders, Luke, Katherine, Thomas, Jane and Madeleine."

I nodded, "She did."

Dan pulled a chair next to me, "Amy told me to tell you, but at the right time. You see Andy, your mom and I…we had a very difficult life. Our parents died when we were young, and we thought it was an accident. And, we were raised by a terrible aunt named Beatrice, and we felt our grandmother didn't care for us enough to raise us. Then when our grandmother died, we signed up for a clue hunt around the world. The team that won would be the most powerful person in the world."

"Oh wow!" I said. I knew that all of this couldn't be real, that mom and Dan were just playing a joke on me. A clue hunt around the world? The winner being the _most_ powerful person on Earth? It sounded too good to be true. I'd tried to play along to see what else they'd come up with. Now I found myself starting to believe them, although I didn't want to. I guess I _wanted_ it to be real, because my life was so boring before this. I didn't want to be just a normal kid, but something different—something _special_. "I would love to sign up for something like that!"

"Andy, it was deadly. Your mom and I had a friend named Lester that died in that hunt. A woman named Irina died to save us." I was stunned, quickly changing my mind about signing up. Something in Dan's eyes told me he was telling the truth, and now I understood why mom would know how it felt to lose a friend. Mom and Dan had friends who'd died on that hunt.

Dan continued, "Your dad's mom, your grandmother, Isabel tried to kill us so many times that we gave up on counting. She was the one who killed our parents. Amy and I found out we were descended from Madeleine, and we had a great-uncle Fiske, who told us about her dream for her family to one day be reunited.

"Andy, your mom, me and several other members of our family were so close to finding out how to be the most powerful person in the world, but it was either let Isabel rule the world, or not let her."

"My grandmother," I whispered. "Is she…Isabel Kabra?"

"Yes. You probably heard it on the news. She's escaped from jail."

My heart started to beat faster. "Was she the one who killed Stephan?"

Dan nodded grimly, "Yes, she was. I'm sure of it."

"B-but…_why_?"

"We stopped Isabel and sent her to jail, and then all of us had to defeat these Vesper dudes, and it was so stressful, but then finally, Amy and I could get on with our lives. She went to collage, and we lost contact with her nearly three years later. She tried to keep you safe because she felt that Isabel's people would come looking for you. Andy, we can't keep you hidden for much longer."

I felt nauseated, "So Minnie was nearly killed."

"Except somehow, Ian and Natalie managed to save her. At least I think it was them…" Dan said.

"Who are Ian and Natalie?" I asked.

Dan's face changed from seriousness to humour, "Well, I don't think Amy will mind…much." He had a mischievous face on, that I never saw on Mom lately. "Well, Ian and Natalie are Isabel's only children."

"So that would make Ian my dad," I said kind of zoned-out.

"Yep, just don't tell your mom that you know, if she finds out; don't tell her _I_ told you, say _Hamilton_ did."

"Hamilton?"

"I think it's about time you met my best buddy. You know him. Get your jacket."

Dan and Andy had driven to a surprise destination. At first, Andy just saw an old junkyard, but Dan had crept towards an old fridge that was leaned against a wall. He then pressed at a few buttons, and the back of it suddenly seemed to disappear. Smirking, Dan had said, "Science." He'd told Andy that they were at a Madrigal base that was commonly used as the Headquarters, and he'd added 'Alexander Cahill' to the list of Madrigals.

There, Dan said they were meeting an old friend of his, and said that it was about time that Andy and him were properly introduced.

Hamilton Holt had taken a quick, last minute flight to Boston. He gave them a report of Isabel's activities and a report on Minnie. He also had information on Stephan's funeral and what the newspapers were saying was a gang shooting.

Ruffling Andy's hair, Hamilton said, "You know Andy, you look a lot like your dad, except smaller and…not the eyes…"

"Yes, Mr. Holt." Andy mumbled. "You told me that."

"I _did_?"

"Hamilton, don't pester Alexander." Dan said.

"Dude, its Andy. He prefers Andy. Just like you like Dan better than…."

Andy tuned out them. He was quite bored listening to his uncle and Hamilton Holt talk.

Unexpectedly, a woman appeared carrying a baby in her arms. She was a pretty woman. She had punk like hair that was dyed blond and black, and a rather large nose-ring, but Andy liked her face. She looked kind.

The baby had thick black hair, and his skin was a pale colour, but that was all Andy could see. The woman was holding the baby quite protectively.

"Nellie!" Dan exclaimed, making his way towards the woman.

Nellie grinned at him, then turned to Andy, "Dan, who is he?"

"Oh, this is Andy," Hamilton explained. "He's Amy's son. She just dropped him off at Dan's yesterday."

"Pleased to meet you," Andy said. He stuck out his hand for her to shake it. Shifting the baby on one hand, she shook it with caution.

"And this is baby Amiens! He's getting big!" Hamilton took the baby from Nellie and started throwing him in the air, then later catching him.

"A horrible name," Dan sighed. "What is it with girls and Shakespeare?"

"I think it's adorable," Nellie gushed. "He'll have fun with it!"

"Maybe the _other_ kids will, but I don't think _he _will." Dan mumbled, and luckily for him, Nellie didn't hear.

They all talked for a while, but then abruptly, red lights started to blink all around them and an alarm started to blare. A young boy rushed towards them. His face was panicked, and he shouted, "There's an attack on Headquarters!"

"Who's attacking?" Dan asked. Amiens started to wail, and Andy assumed that was because of all the commotion.

The boy had already begun running out of the room, "Kabras sir!"

Dan cursed.

** Done! Like, don't like? Review. I think you know what to do.**

_So, who's your favourite character in this so far?_

_ Does anyone want a romance between Natalie and Dan?_

_ Last question, do you want a romance between Andy and anyone?_

**The last chapter will be an epilogue, and I have to say, the end is coming soon. Someone's going to die and it's going to be who you least expect it to be.**

** Thanks,**

** ~Hunter**


	10. Oh No For Andy

**So that you won't kill me, I'll start typing the next chapter. But I'll be away for two days so it'll take longer. I like Amy's part the best. Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!**

**FIVE—AMY CAHILL—5:40 PM—Hawaii **

Amy Cahill had never been more worried in her life.

Well, she had a lot to worry about. One, her son's life was in the balance. Two, people were after her. And three, Amy had left her son in the care of her _brother_. Dan knew nothing about parenting, and it was almost inevitable that he'd spoil the child rotten. No, rottener than rotten. She wasn't even sure there was a word!

She tried to relax, but that was more like Dan. She was always the worrier. She knew that Dan would keep Andy safe if his life depended on it. He would probably teach him some ninja moves and the young sweet boy that she'd left behind would be replaced with another _Dan_. Well, that was better than another _Isabel_. Amy shivered, although it was blistering hot outside and she was wearing short sleeves and long pants. She wondered how Ian and Natalie were faring, and felt a pang in her heart. It wasn't just about Ian, or Andy. It was about Natalie. She felt so sorry for the girl—whose own flesh and blood so ruthlessly shot her.

She bit her lip to stop the tears. She _missed_ her family _so_ much. It reminded her of when she first left them—because of Andy. Now Fiske was dead, Dan matured (a bit), and Nellie had gotten married and had a son, who she'd named after Amy, because they all so missed her. (Yes, Dan had gotten her caught up pretty quickly.)

_Fiske…dead._

It was like mom and dad and Grace all over again. Like Lester and Irina…and the pain of leaving. She felt her heart break a little when she found out that. Her beloved uncle—gone—and she wasn't there for him. He'd died probably thinking he was a failure and that he'd let his only niece walk out. He probably thought that she wasn't happy—not that she was trying to protect another life—an _unborn_ life. A small child—and innocent. He'd died without knowing. Lester died the same way—not knowing about the hunt.

Amy felt a sob escape her. She wanted to end her complicated life so badly—all the mistakes she made. If she could turn back the clock, she'd try to make everything alright. She wanted to make everyone happy—she wanted to be a success.

Deep down, she felt she wasn't. _Right now, I am_, she tried to tell herself. _I'm protecting him. If I die, then at least he'll be safe for a while. Then he can escape._ Tears washed down her face. She should have tried to keep him safe from the beginning—give him to another family at least. But she so wanted to do it by herself—to be there for him. She didn't want to abandon him. He was her _son_. And when he was first laid in her arms, she looked to his tiny face; her whole heart felt like it was wrapped in joy. Alexander looked almost nothing like her, but in that moment she knew it'd be alright.

Now she knew she was terribly wrong.

She didn't what she'd say to Natalie and Ian when they found out. Natalie would be shocked, and Ian…

_Ian._

She couldn't think about this now. Amy was too worried over worrying over Andy.

"He won't die," She thought. "Not if I can help it."

She grabbed her things and booked a flight to Boston.

** FOUR—MINERVA JACOBS—7:12 PM—Vancouver**

Minnie's mother was distraught to find out that her daughter was nearly killed by four people in black clothes.

So she tried to help Minnie as much as possible. She told the girl stories, let her watch television, and even allowed her stay home a few days.

But she didn't know that the thing that her daughter really wanted was one she couldn't give her—or even help her with. She wanted her best friend back, and she kept pouting about it and not even making an effort to try to make new friends. Sometimes, she reminded her mother so much of her father—stubborn and noble 'til the end.

"Mom," Minnie looked up at her mother. "Mom, tell me about dad again."

"Well hon," Minnie's mother sighed. "He was part of this big family, that's what I know. He used to work for this woman who was really horrible, but when he tried to quit, she somehow got him to stay. He has no other family, you see. When I told him you were coming, he said he wasn't ready. Minnie, I love you and you know that, and he loves you too, but he isn't ready for you yet. Do you understand, dear?"

Minnie sighed too, forcing a wide grin, "Sure mom. So, that's like Andy's dad too, right?"

Liz's eyebrows frowned, "I don't know. His mother never told me her story. I just thought it was too painful. I let her be,"

"My dad—what is his name?

Liz smiled, "Ravi."

"Ravi?"

Liz nodded, "His family was from India, and I guess that's where you get your Indian looks from."

Minnie's mind seemed flooded with light. All those years she'd been telling people that she _wasn't_ Indian, but all this time, her mother had known she was. She felt giddy with excitement, and she couldn't wait to email Andy to tell him.

_Andy,_

_ GUESS WHAT?_

_ So my mom finally told me about my dad! I haven't heard from you for a while. I'm not going to tell you until you email back! :)_

_ ***MIN-E***_

_ (I can't hold it in for much longer!)_

**THREE—IAN AND NATALIE KABRA—3:14 PM—Boston**

Natalie felt somewhat scared. And she knew why.

_Why?_ Well, for nearly the first time in over 15 years, she was back to doing Isabel's dirty work. At least she wasn't alone. Ian was with her, and she knew he was scared for completely different reasons. Natalie knew it was because of the child Alexander. Isabel said as soon as they saw him they'd _know_, which made Natalie slightly annoyed and confused, but she didn't show that.

Sneaking into that Madrigal base wasn't very hard. It was just _hard_. Ian and Natalie had shared a look, and then blasted the door open with explosives, like how Isabel had done in the gauntlet. As they expected, alarms started to blaze and red lights flashed.

_Get in and get out. Get the Alexander, Amy and Daniel._

She was anxious to see the boy—to see if he was her nephew. But she knew that she shouldn't be worrying over the boy. She should be worrying over Isabel's next step. _She will _not _hurt them. I won't even let her hurt those people at the train station._

** TWO—DANIEL CAHILL—3:14 PM—Boston**

Nellie looked at him as though he'd lost his mind, "_DAN!_"

"Nellie, they want _Andy_, they won't do anything to you and Amiens!" Dan said. He lifted up the mat, "Get in there Nellie, and keep walking until you're out. Quickly!"

Nellie looked uncertainly at the large dark hole, "Shouldn't you all come too?"

Dan shook his head, "They'll find us faster. We need to buy time. Hamilton, you get the helicopter. Andy, keep behind me and _do not_ show your face. Hey, kid!" Dan suddenly spotted the same boy who had warned them just a few minutes ago.

"There's going to be a change of plans…" He said with a smile displayed on his face.

** ONE—ISABEL KABRA—8:19 PM—London**

"What do you mean you couldn't get them?" Isabel bellowed to her children.

"Well, the boy came running out and they jumped into a helicopter then they headed east." Natalie answered. "We had no helicopter to follow them."

After they left the room, Isabel decided to do the work herself, with a little help.

"Never send your children," Isabel said through her teeth. "Flannigan!"

"Isabel," Flannigan answered with distaste.

"Remind you that I still have your family—your wife and little daughter…" Isabel hissed.

Flannigan paled slightly, biting the inside of his lip hard with anger. "I do remember, Isabel."

"I understand your daughter is the same age as my grandson, so I suppose that you would have trouble if, say…you were to capture Alexander for me."

Flannigan didn't know what to say. I f he admitted the truth, saying yes, there was a chance Isabel thought him weak, and would kill him. However, if she wanted him to admit his weakness, he might kill him for lying. She was a very dangerous woman, and Flannigan wouldn't take any chances.

"The boy is the same age, but for the sake of my daughter, I would capture him." Flannigan answered, his heart pumping. He hoped it was the right answer—the one Isabel was hoping for.

Isabel smiled. Now she knew why Flannigan was her right-hand man, "Yes. Good job Flannigan. You and I will go and capture Alexander and his mother and uncle ourselves."

**(LINE BREAK)**

Meanwhile, Natalie sat beside her brother, talking about the day they had. Her brother looked depressed.

"I don't believe it. I _won't _believe it!" Natalie huffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"Daniel called him Andy, and he ran beside him." Ian said, stating the facts.

"Ian, does Amy seem like _that_ type?" Natalie asked.

There was silence for a while, and then Natalie got up to leave, "Sorry that he's not your son."

**Dan actually had a pretty good idea. He couldn't risk Andy's life, but if Amy were there, she'd tell them that now Ian and Natalie won't try to help as much because they'll see that "Andy" isn't Ian's son. **_**BUT HE IS!**_** They used that other boy while Andy snuck into that hole with Nellie and Amiens. Dan didn't necessarily think it through. **

** How do you like this chapter? I won't have a BIG romance for Andy. A bit of Dan/Natalie, and tons of Amy/Ian. Okay?**

_**So who do you think Flannigan's daughter is?**_

__**Also, check out the poll on my profile. Anyone can answer, I think.**

** You know how many reviews by now!**

**:) Thanks!**

**~Hunter**


	11. INTERMISSION

**I'm back!**

**READ:**

**I felt giddy during this chapter, and trust me, I'll be even more giddy when Amy finally talks to Ian. So this is nearly the end, and AFTER THIS CHAPTER, I'M WAITING A LITTLE BECAUSE **_**THIS IS THE INTERMISSION**_**. Thanks to all that reviewed.**

"Shouldn't we be packing and heading out?" I asked Dan, who seemed strangely relaxed. After I'd gotten out of the tunnel with Nellie and Amiens, I found Dan and Hamilton standing and waiting pretty impatiently. Then, Hamilton had headed back off to Boston, Nellie and Amiens to their home, and Dan and I to Dan's mansion.

"Amy and I got into tons of bumps like that. We have about two weeks until they find out that Josh wasn't you." Dan rose on index finger and tapped his head. "This old thing still works after all."

"Uncle Dan," I asked. "What do you _do_ for a living?"

I'd been wondering since I'd gotten there. How was he so rich? Why was mom so poor?

"I made this awesome video game last year that kids really liked. It's called _Clue Hunters_, and guess whose family it is? Yours and mine! The Cahills!" He laughed at his own joke, which I was confused on.

"You're THE_ Clue Hunters_ CREATOR?" Mom didn't like my obsession with video games, so she certainly didn't buy me _Clue Hunters_, and it was so expensive. Even if Minnie pitched in money, it wouldn't be enough.

"Yeah sure. Do you want to play it?" Dan asked, getting up.

"Yeah!" I said very certainly.

Dan led me to a large room that had tons of flat screens, bookshelves of video games and a disco ball on the roof. The walls were painted red, and there was a black carpet on the floor. The room was hexagonal shaped, and there was stairs that led to the largest flat screen. A video game system was hooked up to it.

"AWESOME!" I ran down the short stairway towards the flat screen. Dan grinned, and then headed for the bookshelves. He pulled out a game and I helped him plug it in.

Dan said, "So Andy, this is how you play…"

**~ (LINE BREAK) ~**

"What do you mean my flight got cancelled?" Amy yelled at the young woman behind the desk.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but there has been a mix up and the flight was cancelled at the last minute." The woman babbled helplessly.

"Oh god," Amy sighed. She turned from the woman and headed to the bathroom. She could feel the tears that threatened to cascade out from her eyes. She wanted to see her son.

When she was inside the bathroom, stooped above the sink, did she allow herself to cry. "Should've taken first class," she told herself. Amy supposed that all of the years of being "poor" had kept her from acting like a truly wealthy person.

She stood up and washed her face. Sighing, she studied her refection in the mirror. No longer was she the weak girl Amy. She was the strong mother—a woman of many talents, _that _Amy Cahill.

She was about to head out to try to find another way to get to Boston ASAP, when she felt a circular piece of metal on her neck. _Gun_, she told herself.

She heard the smooth female voice of the last person she wanted to see right now.

"Hello, Amy dear." Isabel said.

"I-Isabel," Amy couldn't help but stutter.

"Still haven't gotten rid of that terrible stutter? I must say, it's horribly unattractive." She made _tsk_ing sounds.

"W-what d-do you want?" Amy asked, her voice trembling.

"Where's your boy? Alexander, is it?" Isabel questioned, pushing the barrel of the gun deeper into Amy's neck.

"I don't have a son." Amy responded, glad her voice co-operated this time.

"Child, I saw the records! He was born ten years ago, and his father is my son!" Isabel hissed.

"I'm not telling you," Amy spat.

"I'll find him anyway, dear." Isabel said. "Why don't you just save me some time and tell me where he is? I won't hurt him. He is my blood after all."

Amy thought back to how she'd shot Natalie without batting an eyelash. How she hadn't even tried to save Irina. How she'd been the reason Lester was dead. How she'd cold-bloodedly lit that match that eventually led to her parents' deaths.

"Read my lips Isabel," She used some of the not-so-innocent Amy that built up inside of her over the years. "Go. To. Hell."

Isabel felt a twinge of anger. She had wanted so badly for the young woman to fall to her knees and tell of the location of Alexander, but now she realized she should've known. Those Cahill siblings were just so noble! Isabel sighed. She'd have to take the girl with her—probably beat the location out of her.

The girl had gotten smart. Isabel grinned, knowing that would be fatal to her.

**Ohhh, scary Amy. **

** Love, hate? Review!**

** Check out the poll on my profile. Do you want a sequel? For those not logged in, review and tell me. This time, I need 10 reviews before I continue! **

** Thanks,**

** ~Hunter**


	12. Help, Mistakes and Ian

**I want everyone to cheer when they saw this story had a new chapter. :) **

**I just had many reviews saying to continue quickly, and an idea popped into my head, and I was like, "Nooo! This is my BREAK brain!" But it was just too subborn, like me. Happy face.**

**So expect a surprise break soon, because I need a vacation, and I'm going to give you guys a cliff-hanger.**

**Soon.**

**Oh, very soon. **

**Insert evil laughter here. Sorry, I had too much Coca-Cola today.**

**I don't own 39 Clues, but I wish I did. :(**

**INTERMISSION OVER (yay):**

**FIVE—MINERVA JACOBS—8:50 PM—Vancouver**

_Andy,_

_ WHY AREN'T YOU EMAILING? I NEED TO TELL YOU ABOUT MY DAD!_

_ PLEASE ANSWER THIS! PLEASE!_

_ ~MIN-E_

**FOUR—AMY CAHILL—?:? ?-?**

Amy felt weak and dazed. All she remembered was meeting Isabel in the airport restroom, and then she woke up here.

Where was _here_ exactly? It was dark, so Amy couldn't see anything. She didn't know if the room was big or small, but she made a sound and heard it echo all around her, then disappear. She had to be in a big room. She wished Dan was with her. At least then she wouldn't be as scared as she was now and she'd have someone to talk to. She hoped he was alright, and so was Andy.

Amy realized that she'd been stupid to use her real name on the birth records. But she'd hoped that one of her family members (minus Isabel) would look there and find her. But she knew now that no one expected that the reason she'd run away was because she'd given birth to a child. A child of two branches, which everyone would think a threat.

_I'm so sorry, Andy_. She'd thought. She put his life in danger and she knew now that Isabel would find him soon.

She just hoped that Dan was smart and had taken Andy away.

**THREE—FLANNIGAN—11:48 AM—London**

He'd made a big mistake.

Ten years ago, his wife had told him she was expecting. They were young, and Flannigan had thought that they were _too _young. He'd refused to be a father to the child.

His wife refused to give it up.

Then he'd lost her.

Years later, she'd sent him a letter saying they'd had a daughter, whom she'd named Minerva.

He'd spent years thinking about them.

And now, more than ever, he was ready. He wanted to know his daughter. He had to thank Isabel, this was the only good thing she'd done for him. She reminded him of how much he loved his family. The boy Alexander was the exact age Minerva should be. He hadn't told Isabel that Alexander's best friend was his daughter. He'd told Ian and Natalie who the next target was, and they'd rushed off to save her, and luckily they got there in time.

He would've died if she'd died.

Then he realized that since he was eight years old, he'd been an orphan. He didn't want his daughter to grow up without a father. If Liz died, what would happen to her?

Flannigan knew he had to step up, and soon.

Then Isabel had struck a nerve. She'd said she'd kidnapped them and held them in a secret location that she told no one of, or else Flannigan would find out and try to save them.

It was time to fix his mistake. Because Flannigan had learned that family was important.

**TWO—HAMILTON HOLT—3:59 PM—Vancouver**

The plan was easy. After he'd brought Josh home, Hamilton would go back to Vancouver to protect the child Minerva—orders from the Madrigals. He knew that Isabel was after the girl, probably hoping she could get information from her, and Minnie would need more protection now, because Isabel was getting anxious to find Andy.

Amy said that she'd call him every few hours to say she was alright. She couldn't take any chances with Isabel.

She hadn't called in twelve hours, and that wasn't normal for her.

Hamilton thought it was stupid of Amy not to tell Ian that Andy was his son. He knew she was scared, but they would be able to help. And Amy needed all the help she could get.

Amy was a good friend to him, so he wanted to help her. Flipping open his cell phone, he dialled Sinead's number.

"Sinead Starling here," Sinead's voice said over the phone.

"Hey Sinead. It's Hamilton. I need some help."

"Okay, proceed."

"I want to help Amy in her little problem. And she said she would call me every eight hours, but it's been twelve. That isn't like her." Hamilton admitted.

"You're right. Don't worry, I'm on it." Sinead promised.

"Thanks cuz." Hamilton grinned over the phone.

He was about to hang up, when Sinead said, "Hamilton, be careful. She'll go after the little girl, for sure. I don't want you to get hurt, but you have to make her your first priority."

"Don't worry, 'ead. I'm a Holt, and Holts survive." He tried to sound confident, but his voice betrayed him.

"Bye." Sinead said, not noticing. "I'll call when I've got something."

**ONE—IAN KABRA—5:21 PM—London**

Ian Kabra was disappointed. He was relieved and grumpy, but most of all, he was disappointed. He knew it was because of everything that was going on. How did Daniel manage to escape, _yet again_? Why didn't his mother have any courtesy to _stay in jail_? He was disappointed in Amy—he'd thought she was a good girl. But most of all, he was disappointed that the child Alexander wasn't his.

He didn't know _why_. Ian just felt the weight of everything bad he'd done in his life (there were tons) crash down on him. He couldn't breathe or sleep. He didn't feel _alive_.

He thought that maybe that was because he felt that Amy didn't share the feelings that he had for her. He'd known that when he'd first seen the boy. Alexander had brown hair and blue eyes. So unlike Amy—seriously. _Nothing_ like Amy.

Then his Lucian skills kicked in. His heart was pounding. Daniel had always been a tricky devil, like Natalie. He put himself in Daniel and Amy's shoes. Daniel would want to protect Alexander with every fibre in his body. Ian guessed that there was a secret passage that led outside—far away from the base, like the Lucian base had. Ian guessed that probably ever other base had that—Tomas, Ekat and Janus. If they were smart, they'd have to have a quick getaway. Isabel probably knew—that was what she was up to with Flannigan.

_The one who runs away survives longer,_ Ian thought to himself. Suddenly, he smiled. Daniel was smart. He'd told Alexander to go though the secret passageway, while he and a boy around Alexander's age hopped into a plane. Ian was hopeful. He was bursting with happiness, "That's bloody brilliant."

Then unexpectedly, Natalie ran into the room. She was out of breath, and her face held remorse. Ian was immediately concerned.

Between breaths, Natalie cried, "Its Isabel! She's captured Amy!"

Ian jumped off of his seat.

**DONE! I thought that was an easy chapter to write.**

** Listen up! This came quicker than usual, and I have to say, I'm NEARLY at the end. CLOSE, but not that close. It'll be about 20 chapters in total. NOT 20 CHAPTERS MORE. THIS STORY WILL MOST LIKELY END AROUND THE 20****TH**** CHAPTER!**

** Then I can take a break. **

** I'll miss writing this story, for sure. And I'll miss all my reviewers! **

** Which reminds me: Review please!**

** ~Hunter**


	13. Secret's Out

**I don't own the 39 Clues.**

**I forgot to say that the idea about Dan and Andy and Hamilton going to the Madrigal base was a suggestion from bookgirl39 and ****fanfic fan****. Sorry I didn't mention it earlier. I just changed it up a bit, and added some Nellie, and no Ian finding out that Andy's his son, but he does NOW.**

Amy moved around, trying to get comfortable. She wished that Dan had gotten Andy out of the country safely, but felt dread creep up inside of her. Dan was never the worrier—it had always been her. So right now, he was probably with Andy, _in _Boston still.

_Oh no Dan_. If only there was a way to communicate with him—to just tell him that they were coming for Andy—that they'd already gotten her. She reached into her back pocket, and of course, her phone was gone.

Then she remembered, _Hamilton_. She nearly cheered. Hamilton would know that something was wrong because she hadn't called him in… (She didn't even know that time it was!) In a long time!

Amy still couldn't see anything. There was no cracks, or windows or doors that she could see. Wow, Isabel was being really careful, but Amy guessed she had a reason to be. Most of the times that Isabel had attempted to kill her; there had always been someone there to save her. When her thugs had tried to kill them, Lester had helped out and died. Irina had saved them from the fire, and she'd died too. Professor Bardsley, Hamilton and Alistair had saved them also. So many people… and Amy was so glad most of them hadn't died.

For nearly the hundredth time that day, Amy wondered where in the world she was.

Then the door opened.

Amy nearly had a heart attack.

The light behind him made Amy see him clearly, but he couldn't see her.

"Ian," She asked.

"Amy, love?" Ian asked, patting the wall right to him. Suddenly, the room was lit up, and Amy was right about it being large. The walls were a dark colour, and there was a few things in the room that Isabel had added, but nothing of the basic necessities.

Amy wasn't paying attention to the room. After ten years—_ten years_, this was Ian, and he looked as if he hadn't aged a day. He was still so handsome.

Her heart ached for Andy again, after seeing Ian, she saw why he reminded her so much of his father. They looked nearly alike, except the eyes. Andy's eyes were a much more beautiful version of Amy's.

Amy couldn't stop the stupid grin that lit up her face, "D-don't call me that."

Ian grinned too, "Ten years, love."

Amy didn't say anything. She just ran into his arms. He held her there for a few moments, than said, "I can help you escape."

"But what if Isabel finds out? She'll kill you!" Amy replied.

"I'll run away with you." Ian answered.

"But she'll find us like she found me."

"Then we'll kill her."

Amy cringed, "She'll be hard to kill." She didn't really want to kill someone. Death was forever, and she would never purposely do that to somebody, but it was either Isabel or Amy's son.

"Everyone's got a weakness."

"But what about Dan…and Natalie…and…." Amy trailed off, looking down.

"Alexander?"

Amy's head shot up, "How do you know?"

Ian ignored the question, the grip on Amy tightened. "Is…Is he my son?"

Silence. Amy was terrified to answer. Was he mad? He made his voice terribly calm, but Lucians could hide their feelings. They'd grown up on that.

"Andy…he was born ten years ago. I tried really hard to hide him, and since Isabel broke out of jail, I-I think she tried to get revenge on all of us, and I was on the top of the list. She found out sooner than I expected that you were Andy's dad, so yes, he is your son."

Amy saw Ian's face. He looked so excited and happy. His grin grew bigger.

"He's in danger, Ian." Amy said softly. She saw Ian's face change from happiness, to slight distress.

"That's what Flannigan's doing with Isabel!" He cried, closing his eyes for a brief moment.

"W-what are you t-talking about?" Amy asked, her jade eyes wide.

"Love, don't worry." Ian answered. "I'll help you escape. I…I'll keep Alexander safe. Don't worry."

Ian laid a quick kiss on Amy's cheek, and then sped out the door.

That didn't stop Amy from worrying. After all, she was the worrier in her family.

**The next chapter will be a countdown again. To the people who don't understand that, it is just a part of my randomness. In**_** The Medusa Plot,**_** there are things that are similar to that, but they all happened at the same time, but they were at different places, so technically, different time. Sorry, I can't explain things properly. Anyway, for my story, it's different times everywhere. It's not the same time. **

**This was so hard to write. I was nervous and excited and I couldn't stop shaking. I don't know why. So I decided to just get this over with. And now it is! But I'm still going to get those same feelings when I write about Ian meeting Andy. . . **

**Okay, question: **

**.**

**.**

_**Who do you think should be Nellie's husband? **_

_**.**_

_**.**_

**Okay? Please answer. . . **

**Love? Hate? **

**~Hunter**


	14. The Good Guys

**I don't own the 39 Clues. **

**3,130 words!  
><strong>

**This took so long to write. Eight pages and I thought it would only be five! I've been working on it for like eight days. Hope you enjoy!**

**TEN—HAMILTON HOLT—8:50 AM—Vancouver**

After his early morning jog, Hamilton Holt had started pacing back and forth.

Amy still hadn't contacted him.

Sinead had called him just a few hours after he'd last contacted her, and said she had absolutely no clue where their distant cousin was and had booked a flight to Vancouver that was to arrive the next day.

Hamilton debated whether he should tell Dan. Hamilton Holt was _not_ stupid, and had hesitated before thinking it through. There was a chance he was bugged, and _he_ knew where Andy and Dan were located right now. He was like their secret-keeper.

Hamilton felt giddy all over again. This was like the clue hunt, and not like it at the same time. Isabel was searching for Andy, and she was going to kill anyone that got in her way. He, Dan, Amy and Sinead were working together, and he knew that when Ian and Natalie found out about Andy, they would help too.

And there was danger everywhere.

**NINE—NATALIE KABRA—3:56 PM—London**

Natalie knew this was risky.

She picked up the phone with three fingers. Although she was wearing gloves, she still seemed disgusted at the state of the pay-phone. She wrinkled up her nose. She kept the phone as far away from her as possible. The outside air brushed long black hair into her face.

She didn't have long. She called the operator, who gave her Daniel Cahill's number. She heard laughter in his voice and in the background when he answered the phone. A child, male—most likely Alexander.

"Hello?" She didn't answer for a while. She took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat—there was absolutely no time to waste.

"Hello?" Dan repeated.

"Daniel, it's me, Natalie."

There was silence on the other line, "What do you want, Kabra?" The laughter was gone now. It was replaced with anger and loathing, but also a hint of curiosity—and of confusion.

Natalie knew why he acted this way, "I'm not on her side, Daniel. I've changed. Ian and I …she's not our mother anymore." Natalie searched her mind for something else to say, but decided to get on with it. She opened her mouth to speak, but Dan cut her off.

"How do I know that your "mummy" isn't right there beside you? I wouldn't put it past you and your brother to go crawling back to her after she escaped. Haven't you done enough to our family?" Dan hissed through the phone. "And it's DAN."

"You don't want to trust me Daniel," Natalie said, ignoring his last sentence. "But you will have to. Isabel has Amy. She knows about Alexander, and Ian and I know also. He's half-Lucian, and many people will be after him. Agents will be following you around everywhere you go. You won't be safe anywhere."

"Do you know…?" Dan paused, and his voice dropped low that Natalie had to strain to hear. "That you-know-who is his father?"

"Yes I know about Ian being his father, and him being my nephew. That's why I want to protect him!" Natalie was getting annoyed. She accidentally lowered the phone closer to her ear, and cringed when it touched her ear. She'd have to wash it later.

"So now you want me to believe that you feel love for your nephew and that's why you want to shield him." Dan said coolly. "Now that's hard to believe after you felt nothing when you nearly killed me and Amy nearly a dozen times in one year!"

"Look Daniel," Natalie said slowly. "You may not believe me, or you may not trust me, but I'll tell you the truth, which you probably already know. You're trying hard to deny it. Alexander is in danger, and I think that the only way to get him to live longer is to take him out of the country—to protect him. Maybe keep him underground for a while too, but he _will _die. Alexander is important to Isabel for some reason, and I have no idea what that is. If you care about your nephew, you will take my advice. Get it through your bloody thick skull—I'm trying to _help_!

"I know Isabel better than anyone, even Ian. I spent hours with her shopping. She taught me things that normal parents don't teach their children. She taught me about herself too. Her advice built up the person that I knew she was, and who she is now. Isabel didn't change much, and I know that she will, oh she will _never_ stop looking for Alexander. She's like a disease. There is no cure."

"That's a good way to put it." Dan muttered. "Is Amy alright?"

"She was fine the last time I heard." Natalie answered.

There was another silence. Dan cleared his throat, and then said, "I'll keep him safe. Can you keep her safe?"

"Don't worry Dan," Natalie let his nickname slide off her tongue. She liked it. "She won't die on my watch, or Ian's."

Dan then hung up.

**EIGHT—JONAH WIZARD—9:12 AM—New York?**

Jonah had positively no idea what he was thinking when he flipped open his phone and dialed Sinead Starling's number.

He was going to call Dan or Amy, but didn't know any of their numbers. Hamilton just plain scared him, so he called Sinead. She was the only number he had. He'd lost Alistair's a while back, and no one else tried to even pick up the phone to call him.

"Hey, this is Sinead." Sinead's voice said over the phone.

**SEVEN—SINEAD STARLING—9:21 AM—Airplane to Vancouver**

_"Passengers, the plane will land in approximately an hour. Have a nice flight, and enjoy your time on _The Merlin_."_

But Sinead wasn't listening. She felt her phone vibrate. She didn't like when it rang. She always kept her phone with her, and when she when on Ekat missions that Alistair sent her on, she usually forgot to turn it off.

And she found it embarrassing when your boss had the same ring tone as you.

Sliding open her phone, she gave the greeting that she always gave, "Hey, this is Sinead."

"Yo cuz! It's Jonah!"

Sinead groaned, "Jonah, are you talking like that to get on my nerves? You're thirty-two years old! What do you want? I'm on a plane."

"You're not glad to hear from me?" Jonah said with fake surprise.

"I'm hanging up now…"

"No wait!" Jonah cried. In a rush, he said, "About two weeks ago, Isabel contacted me."

"_What_?" Sinead gasped.

"I thought that it was a dream, but it wasn't. I just found a note she left—_If you know something, you'd better let me know_. She left her address."

"Okay Jonah, tell me the whole story." Sinead ordered.

Jonah began, "I had just arrived in New York, and I was getting ready for one of my concerts that was going to be two days from then. Anyways, I ordered some food, worked, ate some more, then went to bed. Then when I opened my eyes, I saw Isabel with a gun pointed at me.

"She asked me where Amy and Dan were, and I told her I lost contact will all of you. I think she believed me, because she left me alone and hid the note somewhere. I just saw it, and I found your number, so I decided to call."

Sinead massaged her head. A slight headache was forming there and she wanted it to go away, "Amy's missing, Jonah. And Dan…he's okay. How fast can you be at Vancouver?"

"Vancouver?" Jonah echoed. "I'm already here. This is where my next concert is at."

"Get a pen," Sinead said. "I'm giving you Hamilton's address. Be there in less than two hours, and I'll be there too. Hamilton and I will explain."

Jonah nodded, "Okay."

**SIX—DANIEL CAHILL—5:59 PM— Boston **

"Beaten by a kid who just learned to play! And I _created_ this game! I hate you _Clue Hunters_! I should have made _Ninja Boss_ instead. The kid would cry for mercy!" Dan grumbled.

"Well, I did say I was pretty good!" Andy laughed at his uncle. Dan was now bashing his head in with the controller. "I had tons of practice with Minnie."

"I guess she's your girlfriend, isn't she?" Dan grinned from the look on Andy's face. He hadn't felt too bad about losing, after seeing the happiness spread on Andy's face.

"N-no she isn't!" Andy sputtered. His face was bright red.

The phone rang. "You're saved, Andy." Dan said. He was prepared to tease Andy more later, like he did with Amy tons of times before.

"Hello?" He asked. After a moment, he asked again, "Hello?"

"Daniel, it's me, Natalie."

**FIVE—IAN KABRA—4:35 PM—London**

Ian was happy to see Amy again. She was still beautiful. He'd wanted to kiss her so badly, but he was scared how she would react.

Ian felt that everything was alright now. Alexander was his son!

"What's with you?" Natalie asked as her brother entered the room looking like a child at Christmastime. "No wait," she grinned. "Let me guess. You…went to see Amy. Any news?"

"Well, I'm the father!"

"Good for you." Natalie said. She was currently reading a magazine, so she flipped a page. "You got a girl pregnant ten years ago, and now your mother broke out of jail, and she's after that kid and his life is in danger and you have to save his life, along with Amy's, and possibly Dan's, while trying to make Isabel believe you are loyal to her, and keep me from telling her the truth, and also without any of my help. Good luck—you'll need it."

His smile faded, "You will not help?"

"No, I will not—I won't help!" Natalie slammed down her magazine and jumped off her chair. "And you can't make me!"

"Why would I make you?"

Natalie shuddered, "You're giving me _that_ look."

"Which look are you talking about?"

Natalie pointed at her brother's face, "_That_ one!"

"Natalie, you're not making sense."

"That's the look that you always have when you want me to help you with something, and I'll just say that I'm not going to help you!" Natalie cried, falling onto her chair with her arms crossed, and a stubborn look on her face.

Ian knew exactly what look she was referring too, but just pretended not to, to get on her nerves. He shot her _that_ look (which was a puppy dog look, Kabra style), and walked to the door. When his hand brushed it, then Natalie groaned and said, "Fine! I'll help, but if I get killed, you are not having anything of mine!"

**FOUR—ALEXANDER CAHILL—6:06 PM—Boston**

Uncle Dan had a short conversation on the phone, and then he turned to me, "Andy, I was wrong."

I felt dread creep up slowly. First it grabbed at my brain, them my heart, and finally my stomach. Uncle Dan wasn't smiling anymore. I knew that if he could, he would stop all the bad things from happening and we'd play _Clue Hunters_ everyday. He'd teach me all the secret ninja moves that he knew, and then we'd both go on a secret Madrigal/Ninja mission, and it'd be so much fun, and Mom would be there, and Stephan would be alive, and Minnie would be on my team.

And then bad people would come, like they did now, and ruin it all.

"Andy," Dan suddenly smiled. "We're going on a trip. We're going to this other Madrigal base and we'll hang out with some of the family. Does that sound like fun?"

I hated that he treated me like a child.

Like I didn't know what was going on.

That someone was trying to kill me.

Silently, I walked out of the room, "I'm already packed."

**THREE—WILLIAM MCINTYRE—9:51 AM—Boston**

_Dear Mr. Holt and Ms. Starling,_

_ It has come to my attention that Amy has been found and she had given birth to a son of the Lucian branch ten years ago. I am sure that you both know our first enemy has escaped her cell and the police are close to calling off their search._ _ We are all in danger, and it is time for us all to gather and help each other again. Only if we work together, will Isabel be defeated._

_ I would like to aid in your mission. It is what I can do to help Amy in her time of need—to protect her son. Her son is innocent, Isabel wanting him to pay for him being born. _

_Good Luck on Your Mission,_

_William McIntyre_

**TWO—OFFICER RYAN WOODS—6:16 PM—Vancouver **

"Nothing yet on the whereabouts of Mrs. Kabra?" The chief asks.

"Nothing, sorry sir." Ryan answers. "All dead ends. This woman is the first smart criminal I've ever seen."

The chief leans in, and places his large, gruff face right in front of Ryan's, "Kid, I know you're new around here, but we always catch the criminal, not matter how _smart_ they are. Everyone makes mistakes. So find them!"

Ryan crinkles up his nose. The chief's coffee breath is foul and hot on his face.

When he leaves, Ryan opens up Isabel Kabra's folder, and looks.

_Mrs. Kabra was convicted of several murders and attempted murders... _

"_She killed my parents," Amy Cahill said. "She killed them and she nearly killed me and my brother too." Amy Cahill was only one of the many she nearly killed. Her brother, Daniel Cahill…_

_Ms. Kabra shot her daughter, Natalie…The young girl and her older brother, Ian… _

"_Yo! That woman was mad!" Pop star Jonah Wizard exclaims about his distant aunt… _

"_This isn't the first time someone has tried to kill us," Ted Starling spoke for his brother and sister. "But now I know what everyone else must feel. We only nearly died...two times."…_

_Eisenhower Holt and his family were also nearly killed by Ms. Kabra… _

Ryan sighs after he reads everything else that was on the paper. He makes a list of all the people Mrs. Kabra killed/attempted to kill.

_ Killed:_

_ Arthur Trent (father of Amy and Dan Cahill)_

_Hope Cahill (mother of Amy and Dan Cahill)_

_Irina Spasky (distant cousin to her)_

_ Lester Dixon (random guy)_

_Nathaniel Hartford (Amy and Dan Cahill's grandfather)_

_ Attempted:_

_ Amy Cahill_

_ Dan Cahill_

_Natalie Kabra_

_ Ian Kabra_

_ Jonah Wizard_

_ Ned Starling_

_ Ted Starling_

_ Sinead Starling_

_ Hamilton Holt_

_ Reagan Holt_

_ Madison Holt_

_ Eisenhower Holt_

_ Mary-Todd Holt_

_ Alistair Oh_

_ Fiske Cahill_

_ William McIntyre_

With all of his notes, Ryan concludes that Amy and Dan would have a lot of anger in them because Mrs. Kabra killed their parents and grandfather, then tried to kill them too. Ryan decides to locate them and question them on Mrs. Kabra's whereabouts.

**ONE—NELLIE GOMEZ—9:30 PM—Boston**

"They all went!" Nellie cried frustrated at Saladin, who Dan had left in her care. "After all we've been through! After all the times I've saved their lives! They left me!

"But now, to think of it, I wouldn't have left anyways. I've got my own son to look after, and he's just a baby. I'd help, but I wouldn't go on the battlefield…" she trailed off, and then looked at Saladin intensely. "You won't leave me, would you buddy?"

Saladin, tired of Nellie's complaining, walked away, leaving a very annoyed Nellie behind.

**Love? Hate? During this part: "That you-know-who is his father?" I really wanted Natalie to answer, "Wait, Voldemort's his dad?", but that isn't really like her. Sorry, I'm obsessed with _Harry Potter_, but I just like the series, I don't have a major crush on one/two of the characters. Thanks for all of you faithful readers for reading, and for reviewing. School's out! Yay! **

**I'm going to give Sinead and Hamilton's team a name, like the Rescue Team, but I think I need a better name. What should it be? Also, vote to see if there should be a sequel to this. **

**Thanks, **

**~Hunter**


	15. Kidnapped by Loving Granny

**I had major writer's block for this, then I came up with an idea, so I wrote it down, and I got this chapter. I may not be able to post a chapter for a while because I'm moving, but now that I've overcome that large block, the next chapters should come soon!... (story starting now...)**

* * *

><p>The past two days have been the worst of my life.<p>

Isabel found us.

I'm in a prison-like place, with no idea where Dan is. All I can do is hope he's all right. And Minnie! Please let her be safe... I can't have another friend die for me.

* * *

><p>My memories are getting fuzzy. I <em>think<em> we were heading off to Fiji the day _she_ found us.

Dan spotted her first. His face paled, and he'd looked like someone had just run over his cat. He must've nearly had a heart attack. I followed his stare, and found myself to be looking at a beautiful lady who happened to look a lot like me... a beautiful lady whom I knew to be my heartless grandmother. My heartbeat sped up, and my jaw slackened.

I felt Dan grab my hand, and heard him telling me to run. I didn't want to leave him alone with her, and it must've showed, because he looked at me and told me that he'll be fine.

His smile was forced. _Good luck, Dan_, I wished him, and focused on my escape. I was trying to find Hamilton, so I could beg him to help me save Dan and Mom. People were brushing past me, not seeming to notice to notice her, the woman who'd just escaped from jail when her wanted posters were tacked up on every street corner.

Feeling really guilty, I remembered what my mom always told me to do in cases of emergency. _Drop whatever's in your__hands_ (my duffel bag) _and run_. I did just that.

I wasn't made fastest boy in Vancouver for nothing, and I ran faster than I ever had in my whole life. I ran like the devil was right behind me. Well, Isabel was close enough, but she'd sent one of her goons to do her dirty work for her. A tall, Indian-looking man.

His legs were longer, and he showed no signs of getting tired. I, on the other hand, wasn't six feet tall and I was starting to breathe hard. _He's going to catch me, _a nagging voice inside my head insisted. I couldn't run forever. My brain was on overdrive, trying to think up a plan. Maybe... maybe I could _let _him catch me? Maybe I'd find a way to escape, and then I'd find mom, and we'd find Dan. Then we could escape to Fiji and stay there until Isabel was so old, she'd have forgotten about us.

But _how _I would escape? This was a bad idea. I had no tools that could help me.

Too late. I'd already slowed down for the one second it took for the man to catch me.

He grabbed me and forced me back to the airport. As we were on our way, I threw questions at him and more than once tried to escape. He turned me around, and said firmly, "I don't want to hurt you, Alexander. My name is Flannigan, and I am your friend Minnie's father."

I looked up at him, and sure enough, I saw tons of Minnie in him, or him in Minnie. I was wrong. Minnie looked more like her father than she did her mother, but there were similarities between her and her mother that you'd never see in me and my mom. Maybe I thought she looked so much like her Mom because I never saw her dad. He continued to talk, "I'll help you, but I'll have to bring you back to Isabel or she'll suspect me. Your father—he'll help you."

"My father?" I had asked. I stopped struggling then. I wanted more information on my dad.

"He's a good person." Flannigan nodded. His voice was calm. "The only reason that he's helping Isabel is to keep _you_ safe."

"He doesn't know about me!" I argued, and started again struggling against his iron grip.

"He does. He just found out," Flannigan whispered. "Now please, we have to get back to Isabel." I wondered why he was working for Isabel. He obviously didn't want to.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked him, a big lump in my throat. I knew that Isabel would do something bad to me, and Flannigan would let her, though it would be against his will.

He avoided my eyes.

"They have my daughter. They have Minnie." I was too shocked to speak.

_They have Minnie_. I _had_ to do something! First Stephan, and now her.

* * *

><p>I think I'm in a cell. I'm almost It's too dark to tell, but not dark enough to hide the fact that rats were here. There is no one with me, so I'm both bored and worried sick. I can't sleep. I <em>despised<em> this place.

"Alexander? Are you in there?"

It was a woman's voice. She has a British accent. It sounds like she was on the outside of my cell.

I don't answer though. I could not trust anyone in this place, except Mom and Dan.

"I know you're in there, Alexander. You have to be…" She trailes off, and then decided to change tactics. "My name is Natalie, and Isabel is my mother. I want to get you and your family out of here, but you have to give me some clue that you're in here."

"My name is _Andy. _Not Alexander," I say. My voice has an edge to it, and is surprisingly raspy. If she is Isabel's daughter, I doubt she would help me get out of here, but I want someone to talk to, a distraction from the worry and boredom.

"Andy," she says slowly, "Ian would have come, but you see, it would look suspicious, and I think that he's secretly afraid about meeting you."

I say nothing.

"He's your dad, you know. Which makes me you aunt. But you can call me Natalie—aunt makes me feel old." She was joking-trying to loosen the tension in the air, but it didn't work.

"Where's my mom?" I ask. Maybe I could get something out of her.

"She's fine. Dan is too, I suppose. She needs information from them—she won't kill them."

She seems to notice that I was still not comfortable talking to her.

"You sound just like your father, Andy, except the accent." Of course, if she saw me, she would say I looked like him too, with the exception of my eyes.

I decide to change the subject. "Where's Minnie? Is she okay?"

"Minerva? She's fine. Ian and I made sure of it. Hamilton agreed to protect her. She's with her mother…safe."

"_Where_ is she?" I repeat, my voice rising.

"She's in Vancouver, going on with her life," Natalie answers sharply. I guess she doesn't like people raising their voice at her, especially ones who were years younger than she was. Her voice softens as she realizes how worried I am. "Did Isabel do anything to her?"

I pale, but I know that Natalie can't see that. Natalie doesn't know...unless she wasn't telling me the truth.

If Isabel had told Flannigan that she had Minnie and Liz, she was either lying or she wasn't, and didn't tell anyone where she was keeping them. If she didn't tell anyone where she was keeping them, she didn't tell anyone except Flannigan that she had them either, which brought me back to the conclusion that she was lying. Minnie was fine, I was sure of that.

"No, no," I reply, trying to keep my voice and calm. "Just making sure…"

Natalie sighs."I must be going. I cannot stay too long—Isabel might find out."

She leaves me, and the only sound I can hear now is my own breathing.

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><p><strong>I don't have much time, so all I have to say is that the next chapter's going to take a little time. I'm busy moving now. Sorry.<strong>

**REVIEWS PLEASE!**

**~HUNTER **


	16. The Strange Girl and Isabel's Plan

**Sadly, I don't own the 39 Clues. Just Andy, Minnie, Flannigan, Kiara and Liz.**

**Thanks to my Beta-Reader Queen Alexandera's Birdwing. She helped me with the last chapter and this one too. :D  
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**Next chapter is when Andy meets Ian! It should come up soon. I'm done writing it (it's very long). I think that you'll like it much more than you would for this chapter.**

**I'm nearly at the end of this! Finally! But I'm sad that it's coming to an end...  
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**Anyways, enough chit-chat. Enjoy! :D  
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><p>A girl sort of… <em>appeared<em> before me. She looked a few years older than I was. The strange girl looked like a teenager, around fifteen. She was pretty. She had dark red hair that fell past her chest and light jade eyes, similar to mine. Her skin was lighter than mine, but not as pale as my mother's. She had the sneaky look of a Lucian, but her face held peace that only reminded me of the Madrigals mission. I thought I was dreaming, and pinched myself. She giggled at the way my face scrunched up from the pinch. I felt something weird - I felt that she was like me.

"Hello, Andy," she said. She had a British accent like Natalie's, and her voice was silky and formal. "I'm Adr-" She stopped abruptly.

"What?" I asked.

She put a finger to her lips and motioned at me to listen.

_Voices..._

I hadn't heard them at first, and even now I strained my ears to hear them clearly. The girl looked like she was having no trouble at all. She'd probably gotten more training than I had.

"What will you do to him?" Natalie's voice asked, rather loudly. Maybe she was closer than I thought. She probably _wanted_ me to hear this conversation. I wondered who she was talking to. Natalie had sounded terrified.

Whoever the other person was, they remained silent.

"Will you kill him?" Natalie asked. Her voice was shaking terribly. She must've been talking to Isabel, because Isabel would be the only person here that would have permission to kill me.

"If he does not co-operate." Sure enough, a female's silky voice answered. It sent cold shivers up my spine; the girl looked like she felt the same way.

Her eyes widened, and she mouthed, _Isabel_?

I nodded.

Isabel continued, "If he is anything like Amy and Daniel, I will have to kill him."

"Isabel! He is your own blood!" Natalie cried, with a trace of uncertainty.

"That didn't stop you and your brother, now did it? It won't stop me either," she hissed.

"Isabel! It isn't his fault! He is a _child_. Alexander had nothing to do with how he was born and whose blood he shares," Natalie all but pleaded.

Their voices started to fade away. I looked towards the girl. She looked a _lot _like my mother…

"Are you...?" I trailed off.

She grinned, and I saw that we shared that, "See you soon, Andy."

She was gone, but I was left with a good feeling.

She didn't know her own grandmother's voice. Was that good news or bad?

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><p>"When are you going to see him?" Natalie asked her brother.<p>

Ian glanced up from the book he was reading."Soon."

"Soon? _Soon?_ Honestly, Ian, what's _wrong_ with you? He's your _son_!"

Ian was surprised, to say the least, at her reaction. "Why do you care so much? Is it that time of-"

Natalie glared at him. "I just don't understand why you won't see him." Ian's expression changed. "Unless you're scared."

The look he gave her was enough of an answer. "You _are_ scared!" she cried triumphantly.

"You are reminding me of Daniel right now..." Ian muttered, loud enough for her to hear.

"Don't try. You're terrified." She was smiling.

"Wouldn't _you_ be?" Ian asked, exasperated. "If you just found out you had a _son_? That just happened to be kidnapped by your _mother_?"

"You're scared," Natalie repeated, ignoring everything Ian had just said.

Ian sighed and returned to his book.

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><p><strong>I finished moving! Yay! I hate moving. It's so difficult!<strong>

**So, who do you think the strange girl is?**

**Review! It will be revealed in the last chapters.**

**Thanks for all you reviewers that reviewed the last chapter! I have nearly 150 reviews now!*grins widely*  
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**~HUNTER**


	17. LOVE

**This is the chapter when Andy meets Ian! Yay!**

**I don't own the 39 Clues.  
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**I guess you don't really want to read a horribly long author's note. You just want to hurry up and read. Well, here you go! Enjoy.  
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**| 0 \/ 3 : LOVE**

I was now a prisoner for about a week. Minnie had to be worrying now. I hadn't emailed her in three weeks.

I wondered if Mr. Holt would save us. Dan hadn't contacted him for a while. He'd know something was up. I just hope he would act on his instincts. But I also hope that he'd be there to protect Minnie.

I wondered what Isabel wants with Mom, Dan, and I. Possibly it's the serum that Mom and Dan told me about. I didn't know anything about it though. Why did she take me too? Was it because I was her grandson? That was no reason to keep me in this..._place_.

Flannigan visited me a few times, and every time that he did, he asked me questions about Minnie. He really loved his daughter, I could see that. He told me that he wasn't ready to be a father when Liz said she was pregnant, so she left, and soon after he realized what he'd lost. He wasn't brave enough to go to her though, and Liz told him in a letter months later that she had a daughter. He'd gotten a little girl. Her name was Minerva. He'd wanted to rush to her side...but he didn't even know where she was. He thought of himself as a terrible father and husband. He'd treasured that letter, and he read it almost every day. He said that he felt sad every time he read it. He felt angry too – angry at himself for being so stupid.

Whenever he had the chance, he'd tried looking for them. Then, ten years later, he found me. And he read the emails. Her name was Minerva Jacobs, and Liz's name was Liz Jacobs. They had to be his girls. He said that he knew Minnie and I were best friends. He knew that if Isabel killed me, she'd hurt Minnie very badly. He didn't want her to get hurt. She'd lived without a father for ten years-with no friends except for me. She'd been hurt enough, and he wanted to make sure that she was never hurt again.

When he admitted those things to me, he looked like he'd gotten a lot off of his shoulders. He loved them with all of his heart, and I knew that if he was doing this, he was doing it for them. He loved them that much. Flannigan said that he loved Minnie as much as how my father loved me. He said that my father was a good man, though most Cahills didn't think so because he was a Lucian, and also because Isabel was his mother. "You can't judge a person from their branch or blood," he'd said. "But if it's Isabel, judge away."

He looked down and was silent after that.

I just hoped he loved her enough that he would attempt to save me, or at least protect his daughter from my lunatic-of-a-granny. How I loved Nana Isabel – her homicidal tendencies never failed to entertain!

(I am being sarcastic.)

I didn't think of Isabel as a grandmother. (She didn't even bake any cookies! Well, I suppose that if she did, she's rather fill them with poison and hand them out to the homeless. Wasn't she _wonderful_?) I thought of her as an enemy. I suppose she thinks of me as a sharp thorn in her side. I liked that I was able to give her some of the grief she had bestowed upon my family. I wondered why Natalie was still with her. Didn't she hate her? I remember Dan once telling me that Isabel had shot her own daughter purposely.

I wondered if it was the serum that got her to act this way. I wondered if she did actually love her children once. I wondered if she was ever happy with them. It's hard to imagine her doing any one of these things. She didn't seem _human_ enough to do them.

I missed my mom. I hadn't been away from her for so long before. And even though I hadn't known him for a long time, I missed Dan too. I missed my friends Minnie and Stephan. It was different with Stephan though. His death was my fault. That would've been me. He won't have had to die. He _shouldn't _have died. He didn't know what would happen.

Everything was going wrong. Mom was supposed to be with me! Dan and I weren't supposed to get caught when we were going to Fiji. Minnie had nearly _died. _Stephan actually _died_!_  
><em>

I wondered what would have happened. Would Flannigan be mad at me, or at Isabel? I would understand if he were to blame me. I dragged her into this. If Isabel had actually killed her, one thing was for sure – either Flannigan would return the favor or I would.

But I couldn't get to her at the moment.

I was bored, miserable, lonely, and getting kind of hungry. The food Flannigan had brought was long since digested. I would have eaten anything right about then, even one of my mom's dodgy veggie-and-fish casseroles. I would've thought the idea ridiculous and gross a couple weeks ago, but now...no. I'd do anything to go back to those days.

Yeah, I really, _really _missed my mom.

That's why I thought that I was hearing things when a familiar female voice hissed through the bars, "Andy! Andy! Are you in there?"

"_Mom_?" I gasped, running forwards towards her.

"Oh, Andy…" Her voice cracked, and I knew she was crying. She tried to reach for me from the other side of the bars, but she couldn't. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Mom, don't cry. I'm okay-I promise."

I heard a loud huff, and then Uncle Dan's voice, saying, "You didn't ask _me_ if I was fine. You just ran off with them looking for your son!"

"Okay, Dan," Mom said, rather impatiently. "Are you okay?"

Dan huffed again. "Yes, Amy. I'm fine."

"We can _see_ that." Natalie's voice echoed through the cell.

"Not me," I comment cheerfully. "I can't see a thing. It's all dark in here."

"Don't worry, Andy," Mom reassured me. I knew that if I was on the other side of these bars, she'd be hugging and squeezing me to death. "Ian's working on in." I see a flash of silver, and I know someone's picking the lock. Lock picking of course takes time. I'm not sure how much we have though.

"Can't you go any faster?" Dan whined, also realizing Isabel could find out that we were here at any moment.

"What, are you scared Daniel?" A new voice asked him amused. It sounds like Natalie's only much more masculine, and with a smoother British accent. I suppose that was 'Ian'. Now where had I heard that name before?

"No," Dan replied. "I just want to get out of here. I think there's rats in here."

Natalie shrieked. "RATS? Ian! You didn't tell me there were any rats!"

Ian sighed, and Mom tried to comfort Natalie, but I think Dan was grinning like a fool. "I just saw one run past your leg," he told Natalie. She shrieked again.

"Stop screaming," Ian barked at her, fiddling with silver tools that continued to flash. "I'm trying to get Alexander out of here."

The only noise I heard was a soft scratching as Ian tried to pick the lock.

"Why do you call him 'Andy' anyways?" Dan asked Mom, breaking the almost-silence. I smiled. I remembered that day like I remembered my own name. (Pun unintentional.)

"I was in daycare," I said. "And there was another kid there named Alexander. He was called 'Alex' though. So I asked to be called 'Alex' too, because I thought that it was cool. But he said no, and I ran to Mom crying my eyes out."

Mom chuckled, "You were two years old, Andy." She continued the story, "So I said that he could be named after the '_ander_' part of his name, and from then on, he was Andy."

"Oh," was all Dan said. I supposed he wanted to comment that 'ander' sounded like 'adder' and I really was my father's son, but he didn't. Maybe he hadn't even thought of that. He'd always said how he and my mom had teased them about their last name-Kabra. They had insisted to them that it really should have been 'Cobra'.

I heard a loud _clang_, and I know that the lock is off. The door squeaks open. Mom took me in her arms, and as I predicted, she squeezed me tightly. I buried my head in her shoulder. She smells the same as she did, if a little… riper. But I was glad to see her again-to hug her. I loved her, and she loved me. She was my mother. She was my friend.

"I remember those hugs," Dan muttered to no one in particular. "She gave me cooties when I was young. I'm glad I never let her kiss me. Who knows what she would've given me then."

No one answered him. I'm in Mom's arms, hugging her back, "I'll never leave you again, Andy." Mom promised. "Never."

I grinned. There was an uncomfortable silence, and Natalie coughed and said, "We must be going. Before Isabel comes."

"Wait," Mom said, pulling away from me. She lead me out of the cell, where everyone was. I blinked a few times, temporarily blinded by the light, and then I could see them all clearly. Uncle Dan's eyes had dark circles under them, and his blonde hair was slightly ruffled. He looked like he hadn't had a proper night's sleep in days, and so does Mom. I think I look the same. I _have _been living in a cell for a week. Natalie looks so much like Isabel-the thick black hair, amber eyes and caramel-coloured skin. She is very pretty. There's a man beside her, who looks just like her. It was like looking in a mirror, or possibly seeing my future self. They could be siblings...

_They are..._

But why do they look like me?_  
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I realize where I've heard the name Ian before. Isabel only had two children, Ian and Natalie. Natalie was my aunt, which meant that...

Ian was my father.

_Ian was my father!_

Dan had said that. Mom had said that. Natalie said that I sounded like him. Hamilton had said that I looked so much like him, and that was evident now. This man was my father.

I felt an odd feeling at the pit of my stomach, and it rose to my throat, blocking it momentarily. "Y-you're my dad," I said when it cleared enough for me to choke out those words. My head was spinning. He and I looked so much alike.

_He was my father!_

I'd never had a father until now. I was giddy with excitement.

He nodded, and I saw that he was feeling the same thing that I was. All we could do was stare at each other. But before we all could do anything else, I heard someone say in a cool, clear voice: "Sorry to interrupt this lovely family reunion. Now, may I ask...why wasn't _I_ invited?"

Isabel.

**Cliffhanger! I promise that I'll type fast. :D**

**Again, all the chapters from now on are thanks to my beta reader, Queen Alexandera's Birdwing, or Alex. You rock!**

**And thanks to all the reviwers. I deleted the author's note from one of my previous chapters. I wasn't very important and it didn't seem very professional. Sorry for the trouble.**

**Thanks to all again!**

**Hunter**


	18. Author's Note Sorry!

**Dear Readers,**

**Yes, this is an Author's Note. I will not be able to update for a while because my sadly, I'm grounded.**

**Talk about unfairness! :)**

**Anyways, sorry if you thought that this was a chapter. I already finished writing the last one and submitted it to my Beta Reader. I will be writing the next chapters, so maybe you'll get two at once.**

**Thanks,**

**Hunter  
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	19. When Everything Gets Interesting

**Sorry for the wait.**

**I have to say, I think my Beta and I did a good job on this chapter. (Not bragging.) So I think that you'll like it, but WARNING: KIND OF SAD CHAPTER!**

**Okay, so without further ado, I present:**

**THE NEXT CHAPTER!**

**(Enjoy...)**

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><p><strong>THREE-HAMILTON HOLT, JONAH WIZARD AND SINEAD STARLING<strong>

**12:56 PM-Uruguay**

Jonah and Hamilton snickered, after taking a long look at the product of their...stupidity. They had both felt the need to relax after a few days of searching for Amy, Dan and Andy. Yes, they knew that Dan and his nephew were gone. Dan said that he would contact Hamilton as soon as they reached the base. That was five days ago. He was supposed to be there four days ago. He still made no contact.

When Hamilton told Sinead and Jonah, they both took it. It was bad, they decided. Sinead wasted no time. She called up her brothers, who unfortunately couldn't make it, but said they would try their best to give them all the help they needed. Alistair said nearly the exact same thing. A few years ago, his health had started to rapidly decline. He was too weak to get on a plane. He wouldn't have been able to give them much help in the field.

From Vancouver to Detroit, then over to the Caribbean, they had been going back and forth. It turned out that the address Isabel had given Jonah was a hint to another address and so on. It was as if Isabel had known that Jonah would never take her side. Maybe she had.

"This looks awesome," Hamilton said, looking back and forth between a mirror and his red painted fist.

Jonah nodded in agreement. They glanced at each other, and then burst into laughter.

Sinead entered the bathroom. "What's taking you two so-_oh_." She glared at them, annoyed. Jonah and Hamilton continued to laugh. "You two are _so_ immature."

"It looks cool!" Hamilton argued.

"And you shouldn't be here, Sinead." Jonah continued. "This is the _men's_ washroom."

Sinead rolled her eyes. She grabbed both of their hands and was about to pull them out of the room, then pulled her hands away in shock. She glanced in horror at her now red-painted hands. "What on earth _is _that?"

They burst out laughing again. "Finger paint," Jonah choked out.

"Finger paint?" Sinead shrieked, turning on the tap and washing her hands quickly. "_FINGER PAINT?_ Who even keeps finger paint?"

Hamilton slowly raised his red hand. "Me. It's fun!"

Sinead pointed at the tap and gestured at him to wash off the paint.

Jonah quickly washed off the paint from his hands as Sinead ranted. "Amy and Dan are missing! Plus a little kid who did nothing wrong! We should be out saving them, not writing stupid messages on a mirror!"

"But it's funny," Hamilton objected.

She leaned against the sink. "It won't be funny when Isabel k- _hurts _them!" She didn't want to say kill. "It won't be funny when we get there and we have to fight her! It won't be funny! They could already be hurt! We have to save them! We're the only ones who can! And what are we doing?" She sent them both a death glare, "WRITING _MESSAGES_ ON MIRRORS! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELVES?"

Hamilton and Jonah knew Sinead hadn't had sleep in days. Of course, they wanted to giggle and say, 'but it's funny'. They had the grace not to. They bowed their heads, and muttered apologies. Sinead left with a smug expression on her face.

As soon as she did, they both burst out in laughter, and glanced at their message one last time before following her out.

_The Hammer waz here. Time to kick sum Izzy butt!_

With a large red fist slammed next to it.

Boys.

_Honestly?_

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><p><strong>TWO-MINERVA JACOBS<strong>

**6:21 PM-Vancouver**

"Where are you, Andy?" Minnie asked the screen in a whisper. No new messages. She knew this was unlike her friend. He would've emailed back if he had the chance.

But maybe he was too busy. Maybe he had made other friends. Suspicious, she typed 'Stephan Mills' in Google's search box.

The headline made Minnie's heart stop.

_Young Stephan Mills, 10, Murdered._

Her hands were shaking as she clicked on it.

_Stephan Mills, 10, was found lying dead on the sidewalk only a few minutes after school. Mills was shot three times. Police are ruling this as a homicide and begging witnesse_s_ to please__come forwards. Police are also looking for Alexander Cahill for questioning on his friend's death. Cahill was last seen the day Mills was killed, and he-_

Minnie didn't want to read anymore. Her heart started to speed up. Maybe this was why Andy hadn't emailed. He was in trouble. She looked at the headline beneath that one.

_Isabel Kabra still not found..._

Out of a whim, Minnie typed her name in the search box.

_The Devil Goes to Jail_ was one headline. Minnie regretfully clicked on it. There was a picture of a beautiful woman that made Minnie suddenly self-conscious. The woman had beautiful, long black hair, flawless cinnamon skin, and gorgeous amber eyes.

And she looked just like Andy.

Minnie did a double take as she read, _Kabra's two children, Ian and Natalie were present in the courtroom along with some of Kabra's family members whom she attempted to kill. Amy and Daniel Cahill..._

Amy Cahill was Andy's mother's name.

Could it be a coincidence?

In Google images, she typed in 'Amy Cahill', and pictures of Andy's mother younger popped up. She was quite pretty. She looked nearly the same as she did now. She had long, red-brown hair, pale skin and beautiful jade eyes, but without the flecks that Andy's had.

Minnie also typed in 'Daniel Cahill', and gasped. He was the creator of 'CLUE HUNTERS'! She suddenly felt so excited. She wondered if Andy knew his uncle was the creator of one of the best video-games of the decade!

The young man was handsome and had dark-blonde hair. Both he and his sister had jade-green eyes. Andy's were so similar, only they had brown flecks. Minnie turned back to the headline of Isabel Kabra. Brown flecks...or amber...

Minnie knew that Amy had to be Andy's mother, so she typed in, 'Ian Kabra' and slowly pressed 'enter'.

She now gasped. He looked just like Andy! Or Andy looked just like him! Now she knew that this man had to be Isabel's son, and Andy's father. She also glanced at pictures with him and his sister.

She nearly fainted. They were the ones who had saved her! Ian and Natalie Kabra, children of murderer Isabel Kabra, had saved her life!

_Isabel had escaped from jail._

But why didn't Ian or Natalie...why didn't she know about them?

Maybe Ian and Natalie didn't know about Andy. That would explain why she had never met them or why Andy had never mentioned them. He didn't know either. But then there was a big chance that Isabel also didn't know about Andy. _Man,__Amy sure can keep a secret!_, Minerva thought.

Amy would want to keep Andy away from Isabel. Maybe she had known that Isabel would break out of jail, so she didn't tell anyone she had a son. And when Isabel did break out somehow, she found out about Andy. So that's why Andy had to leave so suddenly. Minnie had noticed some people in dark clothing hanging around him. He had seemed so uneasy when he was around her-always looking over his shoulder. So he went to New York, and Minnie nearly got killed, but somehow, Ian and Natalie found out and they saved her.

Then they found out Andy was in New York, and they shot at him, but Stephan was in the way...

Minnie had tears in her eyes. Poor Andy...

That would also explain Ms. Starling and Mr. Holt. They tried to be close to Andy, and Mr. Holt was also everywhere that Minnie went. Then right after Andy left, Ms. Starling quit, but Mr. Holt stayed. Then just a few days ago, Mr. Holt quit too.

So where was Andy?

She knew that Amy rarely talked about her family, but Minnie had a vague memory of her talking lovingly of a little brother. There was only one person that Amy should trust above everyone else. Minnie glanced at Daniel Cahill's picture. There was a slim chance, but Andy _might_ be with Dan.

Then she remembered something her mother had told her.

"The woman that he worked for," Liz Jacobs had said. "She went to jail, but she was still giving him orders. He hated her-he truly did. And just now, she broke out of jail."

So, she typed in 'Ravi Patel'. She knew that it was a long shot, but there was a chance that her father was working with Isabel Kabra.

Ravi Patel used to be a business man, she found out. His mother's maiden name was Flannigan and she was English, while his father emigrated from India. Ravi's friends liked to call him Flannigan, and he liked the nickname too. But soon he quit, to live his life with his wife, Liz. No one knew that Liz had left him when he refused to be a father to their little daughter.

There was also a picture of him, and Minnie was shocked to see the woman beside him. It was not her mother. Frightened, she turned back to her father, Ravi Patel.

The man looked like her. Tall, Indian, nice smile.

The woman however, was beautiful. Long black hair, flawless skin, and amber eyes.

Isabel Kabra.

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><p><strong>ONE-MANY PEOPLE<strong>

**TIME UNKNOWN-Secret Location in London**

"Again, my children betray me," Isabel said, pacing slowing in front of Andy, who was tied uncomfortably to a chair. Everyone was there. Flannigan was in the back, leaning against the wall, trying hard to hide his feelings like a Lucian should. Natalie and Ian were beside Isabel, pale and frightened, but hiding it like Flannigan.

Amy and Dan, however, had to be restrained by Kiara and another goon.

"You two," Isabel said, flicking her gun in her children's directions. "Will you _ever_ learn? You are Lucians, the best of all the Cahills! This boy...is worthless."

Andy gulped and paled. He knew that this was his end. It was only the day after Isabel had foiled their escape plan. Flannigan had come in the morning, and given Andy a gift from his father-a cream-colored T-shirt. At first, the child was uncertain what to do with it, and Flannigan insisted that he wore it.

Andy had begged for the truth.

"Will she kill me?" the young boy asked, his head bent, already knowing the answer. This seemed to be his destiny.

Flannigan was silent for a moment, but he knew that the boy deserved the truth, even if he wasn't going to live for another day. "She plans too." He looked sternly at the young boy, and placed his hands heavily on Andy's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Alexander."

"It's okay," Andy said, a stray tear running down his cheek. He looked up at his friend, jade-amber eyes meeting black ones. "Promise me that you won't work for Isabel after this. That you'll find Minnie and tell her what happened to me. She-she's my best friend. She deserves to know. And," he said firmly, "Protect her and love her. She's your daughter. It's your job."

Flannigan let a small smile escape his lips, "You'll have to tell her yourself."

He hadn't answered any of the questions that Andy shot at his afterward, but Andy felt a slight twinge of hope then. But now it was gone. Flannigan couldn't do anything. Isabel would find out, and even if he killed Isabel, he'd be killed by Kiara and the other goon.

No one could do anything. They watched and listened helplessly as Isabel continued to speak.

"I want only three things," Isabel said. She looked at Dan. "The serum," - she turned to Amy -"The ring of Gideon Cahill. And finally," – She looked up with a smile on her face, which looked quite evil and scary to Andy, but as a bubble of words rose to his throat, he felt no need to speak them aloud - "Power," she said finally, an repeated it:"Power"

She lowered her head, and said to her children, "You two will have to pay."

"No," Andy cried. Isabel whipped her head in his direction, and another smile similar to the one she had worn a moment ago played on her lips. "Leave them alone. Take me instead. Leave Dan, Natalie, Mom and Dad alone."

"NO Andy!" Amy tried to launch herself towards her son, but the goon held her back. She shot Dan a look, and he said with his eyes, _there is nothing we can do, Amy. _

_NO! There has to be a way. After all we've been through; I don't want it to end like this. He's my son!_

Isabel's smirk grew wider. Ian grimaced in his mind. Natalie wished everything would be okay. She, surprisingly, was the most calm of them all. As if she knew that something would happen...

Flannigan fingered his gun, getting ready.

"Very well then," Isabel said. She gestured to Kiara and the goon to take Amy and Dan outside. "But my children stay here, along with Flannigan."

Natalie couldn't hide the grin from spreading over her face. Her mother noticed.

Natalie's grin turned evil. "I'm just enjoying this, Isabel. Alexander has caused all too much trouble. There is only room for one great Lucian, after all." Ian looked in horror at his sister, and backed away from her. Andy also had an identical look of horror on his face, his heart sinking below the ground. He'd trusted this woman, and she betrayed him. She probably told Isabel that they were planning on breaking him out.

Isabel's smile made him certain that that was what had happened. "Prepare to die, Alexander dear."

She raised her gun to him, and fired.

Everything seemed to go in slow motion. Andy saw his life flash before his eyes. _I'm sorry Mom,_ he thought, _I'm sorry Mins._ Andy closed his eyes tightly, just catching a glimpse of Ian and Flannigan. Flannigan looked dreadfully sad, but Ian's face turned into a smile behind Isabel.

_He's betrayed me too,_ were Andy's last thoughts.

He felt pain shoot from his chest, and when he looked down, blood shot in a crimson circle around the part that hurt _so _much.

She shot again, almost immediately, and another circle appeared right beside it. Ian and Natalie's eyes widened, and that was the last thing that Andy saw before the whole beautiful, colorful world went black.

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><p><strong>DON'T KILL ME! <strong>

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**Now that that's all sorted out, I want to say let's have a moment of silence for Alexander Cahill and pray to God (or someone) that he's not DEAD!**

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><strong>

**Okay, I'm officially sad.**

**Review or I won't write what happens next!**

**(Also, go on my profile and vote if you want a sequel to this.)**

**IT'S NOT DONE!  
><strong>

**Hunter**

**PS. This, like my other story "15 Years Into The Future", is dedicated to the victims of Irene (dreadful, wasn't she?) and to the memory of Jack Layton (R.I.P).  
><strong>


	20. Not As Planned

**Here it is. I think with this, you'll be happy. **

**Well, TGIF.**

**And I just want to say, I got** **129 visitors for the last chappy! Yay!**

**My first story is nearly at an end! It's got like, three chapters left.**

**So, ENJOY!**

**...  
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><p>Ian Kabra's life, so far, had been rather horrible.<p>

Having tons of money was _nothing_.

Having people you can trust-your family-was _everything_.

He'd just realized that as he turned to his sister in disgust. A part of him told him it was just an act-Natalie was _not_ as cruel and evil as their mother. Right?

_If this _was_ just an act,_ Ian thought. _I'll have to act too._ He noticed that right now, Alexander was quite horrified, staring wide-eyes at his aunt, the woman he trusted, whom he still hoped to trust, whom he _hoped_ was not another Isabel.

Ian backed away from Natalie, still looking at her horrified. She sent him a quick smile, not evil as it had been, but very near a smirk, and Ian knew that she had planned this all out. Maybe with Flannigan who, as Ian couldn't help noticing, kept touching his gun, as if waiting for the right time.

Ian wondered if he could send Andy a one-second reassuring glance, but he knew the child would only see his worry. Ian hoped with all of his being that Natalie's plan would work.

Isabel raised her gun to Alexander, aiming at his chest. That meant there was a chance he'd live, but if he did, Isabel would only kill him in a more painful manner. Ian felt rage boil in him, but at the same time he was _so_ glad that Amy and Daniel weren't here. They didn't need to see this. He felt he should do something, but he couldn't. Isabel had taken all of his and Natalie's weapons. The only one who had a weapon here, other than Isabel, was Flannigan, and Ian wasn't even sure if he was on their side though. Of course, Flannigan's daughter was Andy's best friend…

"Prepare to die, Alexander, dear." Her smile was evil and insane.

Alexander looked towards them. Ian could see he would embrace death with open arms. This little boy, of his flesh and blood -of _Isabel's_ flesh and blood- was going to be killed in front of his eyes. He was just a year younger than Natalie had been when they had joined the clue hunt.

But he couldn't do _anything_. He was useless in this.

His father's voice echoed in his head. _A Lucian is always of use._

But right now, he knew his father was wrong.

He'd known that Alexander was doomed the day he'd met him. The day he tried to break him out of that cell; the day that Isabel had foiled their plans. He'd just..._sensed_ it.

When he'd first seen the boy, both he and Natalie had gasped. Ian and Natalie looked a lot like their parents. They were perfect-looking children (now adults) with black hair, flawless cinnamon-colored skin, and beautiful amber eyes. They could have been supermodels. Natalie, Ian knew, had always envied that his hair didn't get messed up when they boarded and un-boarded planes.

Alexander looked just like him. His dark hair still looked passably neat and his face not even dirty. The boy had lighter cinnamon skin, for sure, and his eyes were green with amber flecks, but they all looked so much alike.

Natalie was right when she had said Alexander spoke just like him, but with a Canadian accent. He spoke, hope written all over his face, "Y-you're my dad." It wasn't a question.

Ian found he couldn't speak. He looked at the boy, and nodded. Alexander's face had lit up like a Christmas tree.

Ian had felt a strong emotion, a strong _connection_ to the boy.

Ian thought that he never hated hearing his mother's voice as he did at that moment, "Sorry to interrupt this lovely family reunion. Now, may I ask...why wasn't I invited?"

And his heart had sunk like the Titanic.

Ian knew that it was completely idiotic not to have planned something in case Isabel found them escaping. But he had thought that she wouldn't. She wasn't supposed to. He'd thought his plan was perfectly thought out-_flawless_. Isabel was much smarter than that; _much_ smarter.

* * *

><p>"Mom! We <em>have<em> to go!" the girl cried, stomping her foot angerly. "_Right now_!"

_Sometimes,_ the woman thought, _she is just too much like her father. _"I told you," she sighed. "We can't go. I just can't afford it right now.

Minnie wondered if her mother knew how important this was. This was _Andy_! Her _best_ friend needed her!

Minnie blinked back tears, wondering if she should tell her mother the whole story. She knew that there was a chance her mother would think she was making it all up, but there also was a chance that she would believe her. She decided to try.

"Mom, do you remember that woman, Isabel Kabra, the one who escaped from jail about a month ago?"

Liz looked confused, but nodded.

"Isabel Kabra is Andy's grandmother," Minnie admitted. She saw her mother giving her a skeptical look, and quickly added, "She looks just like him! I saw some pictures! And she has a son and a daughter. Ian and Natalie Kabra! They were the ones that saved me, Mom!"

Liz's dark eyes widened. "Are you saying that Ian Kabra is Alexander's father?"

"Yes!" Minnie cried.

Liz was silent, and then she spoke quietly, "Your father worked for Isabel Kabra. I didn't want to tell you. I thought it would upset you."

"It's okay, Mom." Minnie gave her mother a reassuring smile, and continued her explanation. "Isabel wants Andy for some reason, and that's why Andy and Amy disappeared so suddenly. Andy wrote to me and told me that they went to Amy's brother Dan's house, and Amy left him there to keep him safe."

Liz nodded, understanding.

"Well anyways, I did some research. Andy said he had a friend called Stephan Mills when he was in New York. Stephan Mills was killed three weeks ago."

"Is Alexander alright?" Liz asked worriedly.

"Yes, but I think that Isabel was aiming for Andy, and Stephan was in the way. She tried to get to Andy through me too, but her kids saved me."

Liz was starting to believe Minnie. But there was a question tugging in her mind. "How did Isabel Kabra know where Alexander was?"

Minnie bit her lip, "I don't know..." Suddenly, it hit her, and her eyes widened. She rushed to the computer which was currently on, and opened up her inbox in her emails. She quickly read them, realization hitting her. Liz got up and stood beside her daughter.

"The emails," Minnie whispered horrified. "It was the emails."

* * *

><p><strong>FROM: <strong>Minns_just_here

**TO: **Knight_of_battle

**Subject: **Whatever

Dear WHO-EVER THIS IS:

I KNOW YOU'RE NOT ANDY! I KNOW THAT YOU ARE READING OUR PERSONAL EMAILS. I KNOW YOU NEARLY **KILLED** ME AND ANDY. I KNOW YOU ACTUALLY **KILLED** STEPHAN. SHOW YOURSELF!

_LEAVE ANDY ALONE! HE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!_

IF YOU DON'T LEAVE US ALL ALONE, I'M GOING TO THE POLICE!

Minerva Jacobs

* * *

><p>(With help, regrettably, from her mother.)<p>

Minnie was very proud of that email.

* * *

><p><em>Strange<em>, Flannigan thought. He's wanted to know more about his daughter, so he'd broken into Andy's email account and intercepted the emails. He read the one sent from his daughter...to him. Though she didn't know it was him. All she knew was that she had written a very angry email to the 'bad guy'.

It was quite amusing.

He knew it was a bad idea when he started to type a message to her.

* * *

><p><strong>FROM: <strong>Knight_of_battle

**TO:** Minns_just_here

**Subject RE: **Whatever

Hello Minerva.

I know you. And I think that you may know me as Ravi Patel.

It was not me that killed Stephan Mills. I did not try to kill you.

I do not wish to hurt your friend, though Isabel Kabra has other ideas.

Sorry.

* * *

><p>He'd wanted to put 'Dad' at the end. The lesser words he wrote, the less Isabel would suspect him of betraying her.<p>

* * *

><p>Amy watched as the goon crumbled beneath her feet. <em>I've still got it<em>, she thought and smiled to herself. Dan was grinning too.

They raced back to the room where Andy was in.

Then they heard the gunshots. Three of them, one after the other. They echoed through Amy's body, first breaking her heart, and then invading her mind. She knew that they could only mean one thing. She sank to her knees, clutching her chest as the pain sunk in. She felt as if her heart was ripped out of her. She felt worse than she did when she had found out Grace had died.

Amy screamed.

"He can't be dead," she sobbed. She knew that he had to be. Natalie and Ian had been patted down for weapons. Flannigan was in there. He was working for Isabel. There was only one explanation and that was that her only son, her only child, her little boy, was dead. She didn't want to believe it. But no one was coming out of the door.

Amy sobbed harder. Dan reached over to his sister, and hugged her hard, tears leaking from his eyes too.

"It's my fault," Amy whispered. "If I hadn't have been so selfish. If I had just given him up, maybe he would've been safe."

"No Amy," Dan hugged her tightly. "Amy, it's not your fault. He was safe with you. If you hadn't raised him, he wouldn't know about the Cahills. He was happy, Ames. He died for _us_. He loved us."

"Dan, he was a child!" Amy cried, looking ready to tear her hair out. "I should've been there to protect him! It's my fault!"

"No. It isn't your fault, Amy," said a new voice. Dan and Amy looked up to see Ian Kabra, holding the door open, waiting for them to come in.

"What are you doing here, Cobra?" Dan was surprised at the coldness in his voice. He had never been angrier at anyone before. His hands shook with rage.

"Do you want to see Alexander or not?" Ian asked.

Amy immediately wiped at her tears and took a step toward the door. Dan pulled her back, turning to Ian, "How are we sure that your 'mummy' isn't in there waiting for us to get in and shoot us like Andy?"

Suddenly, Natalie's annoyed voice shouted from the inside of the room, "You dim-wit! Of course you're not sure. It's like you don't know her at all. She would come and shoot you two out there, not get Ian to bring you in here!"

Dan sighed. She was right.

And there he saw his nephew, still tied to the chair, but _alive_, living and breathing and _alive_… with Isabel lying unmoving on the floor under him.

* * *

><p><strong>IS SHE DEAD? I really hope so!<strong>

**Okay, so do any of you** **want a sequel?****I need to know so I'll know how to end it.**

**Thanks for all of the reviewers! You guys rock!**

**You see? Andy's not dead! The morgue didn't call me about his body, so I assumed he was alive. **

**Okay, that's just a bit confusing.**

~Hunter or Luna


	21. Holding the Serum

**Sorry again for the delay. I was in a rush to post this, so if you see anything wrong, I apologize.  
><strong>

**I hope you all will enjoy this chapter. Only two more to go!**

* * *

><p>Amy immediately rushed to her son's side. She checked him over, making sure he was alright. His shirt was a little bloody, but nothing seemed to be wrong other than that. He was alive. Neither Amy nor Dan had any clue about how Andy could have survived being shot three times.<p>

Dan's eyes went first to Isabel, who was lying motionless on the floor. There was no blood around her. He was uncertain whether she was dead or not, but he hoped that she was dead. Then he wouldn't have to keep turning around and expecting her to be behind him, wearing her scary Lucian smile with a gun pointed at him.

Natalie saw the confused yet relieved look on the siblings' faces.

"He shot the woman," Natalie explained, pointing at Flannigan.

Dan gawked in amazement, looking from Flannigan then back down to Isabel. "She's dead?" He now knew that if Flannigan had the guts to do that, he was Dan's new hero.

Amy gaped, glancing down at Isabel, then to Flannigan. "What? Is she really?"

"Nah." Flannigan twirled his gun again, looking proud of himself. He grinned widely, something that Ian and Natalie hadn't seen very often.

"It was a dart gun," Natalie scoffed.

Dan's grin instantly faded. "Aw! Come on!"

Why couldn't Isabel just die already?

Ian and Natalie glanced at each other and rolled their eyes. Like it would be that easy to kill her, they were both thinking.

Amy, who had gotten down on her knees to check Andy, grabbed him in a tight hug. "H-how are you still alive? I heard the gunshots-the three of them," she said, fighting a sob.

Andy's eyebrows knitted together. "Three? Oh-!"

"The first two were Isabel," Ian said.

"The last was me," Flannigan continued.

Amy eyed the blood on Andy's shirt. "But...you were hit." She looked nauseous.

"Oh, I know!" Dan cried, jumping up slightly. "He's got super ninja powers that he inherited from me!"

There was a silence in which everyone turned to him, their eyebrows raised disbelievingly. Dan frowned at their expressions.

"I'm afraid," Ian began slowly, "Natalie and I will have to take credit for that. I gave Flannigan a shirt to give to Alexander. The shirt was made with special bullet-proof fiber Natalie and I experimented on and we thought it was flawless. As you can see, it still needs perfecting..." He frowned at Andy's injury.

"Thank you." Amy hugged her son tightly, making sure to avoid the wound. Andy's skin turned slightly blue, due to the lack of oxygen. "Thank you all so much."

"What are you babbling about now, Ames?" Dan said. "It's my job. We're family!"

"She wasn't only talking about you," Flannigan snapped.

"So..." Andy began, grinning from ear to ear, his color returning since Amy let go of him. "Does this mean we can all go home? I can finally talk to Minnie again and Flannigan can finally meet her?"

"She's very...feisty," Flannigan commented.

Andy turned to the man with his eyebrows raised. "She's _your_ daughter."

Flannigan shrugged. "She gets it from her mother."

Andy shook his head and sighed.

Suddenly, the doors burst open, revealing a very breathless Hamilton Holt, a red-faced Sinead Starling and a calm Jonah Wizard.

* * *

><p><em><span>Hours Before<span>_

While walking to school, Minnie glimpsed what she thought was an aged man, dressed completely in black, following her. She took a few random turns to throw him off track, making sure not to stray too much from her original path so she wouldn't get lost, and quickened her pace. However, she still felt as if someone was following her. She built up her courage, whirled around, and walked right up to him.

"Who are you?" she demanded. Her voice was as cold as the air around her, but in truth, her insides were quivering in fear.

"My name is Fiske," the man in black answered, loudly and dramatically. "I am Alexander's uncle."

Minnie frowned, guessing the man's age to be older than eighty. Amy was barely thirty. If this man was Andy's uncle.. no, the age difference didn't fit. "You're too old to be his uncle."

The man sighed in impatience. "His great-grandmother Grace was my sister," the man clarified.

"So you're his technically his great-great uncle?"

"Whatever you prefer." The man – Fiske - reached for her elbow. "Now, we must be going. As I heard, my nephew is in need of your help."

* * *

><p><em><span>Still Hours Before<span>_

Sinead's cell phone rang. Groaning, she flipped onto her back and reached for it.

"Hello, this is Sinead Starling asking, 'why in the world you called at this time?'"

"Err, hello to you to, sis," a voice replied uneasily.

"Ted," she growled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What do you want?"

"Sin, it's morning over there you know," another voice, identical to the first, called.

"Ned," she answered again, "I know, but I haven't had much sleep lately."

"Sorry," her brothers chorused.

"It's fine." Though it really _wasn't_.

"Anyways," Ted said, "Fiske Cahill called us."

"Fiske?" Sinead was immediately wide awake. "He's dead! I went to his funeral!"

"Well, apparently, he's not. He went into hiding," Ted answered sheepishly.

"He said he has Minerva Jacobs and they have a lead on where Alexander, Amy and Dan are," Ned continued.

"He has Minnie? Why? She's ten years old for heaven's sake!" Suddenly, she fully realized what her brothers had said. "Lead? What 'lead'?"

Her brothers gulped, and started to tell her the whole story.

* * *

><p>"It seems..." Hamilton huffed, "As...we're...a bit...late."<p>

Sinead glared at him. "You think?"

"Amy, Dan! Good to see you again!"

Jonah spread his arms out for a hug, which of course he didn't receive. Jonah pouted and turned to the young boy slightly hidden by Amy. He looked almost exactly like his father, but he had green eyes, with flecks of amber, just as his comrades had described.

"Hey there little bud!" Jonah grinned at the boy. Alexander, was it?

The boy blinked at him. "A-are you...Jonah Wizard?"

Jonah was tempted to ruffle the boy's hair, but he could see that Ian looked ready to pounce.

"Yeah. Wass' up?"

"Not much..." The boy trailed off, glancing at Isabel.

"Yo!" Jonah jumped a foot in the air. It was not a very pleasant sight. "Is she dead?"

"No," Natalie answered, rather impatiently. "Shot by darts."

"Oooh," Jonah said, wincing. "I almost feel sorry for her."

Suddenly, a girl's voice echoed through the room.

"ANDY!"

Andy turned around, eyes wide, "Minnie?"

* * *

><p>"Hello, this is Officer Ryan Woods. How may I help you?"<p>

"I've heard you are investigating Isabel Kabra's disappearance, Ted. I have some information for you."

"Who is this?"

"It's Fiske Cahill. Now, if you would please pass this on to your sister..."

* * *

><p>"I thought I told you to stay in the car!" Hamilton cried.<p>

The girl shrugged. "My best friend was nearly killed and you expect me to stay in the car? Mr. Holt, it's like you don't know me at all!"

After a tight hug, Minnie turned to everyone in the room.

Looking around, she recognized almost everyone in the room.

Mr. Holt and Miss. Starling were slipping their guns back into their belts, while the Jonah Wizard was making a conversation with everyone.

The man with the dark-blonde hair and an exact copy of Amy's eyes had to be her little brother Daniel Cahill, Andy's uncle. And the creator of CLUE HUNTERS! Minnie really loved that game.

The man and woman beside each other, looking like flawless super-models had to be Isabel Kabra's children, the ones who saved her life. She smiled at them. "Thanks. Without you, I'd be dead."

The woman smiled. "It's fine. You're from our branch."

"Branch?" Minnie echoed, confused.

"It's a _long_ story," Andy said simply, stretching the 'long' and smiling sheepishly at his friend.

Suddenly, a man that Minnie recognized from the website, Ravi Patel, stepped forwards. "Hello, Minerva."

She was at loss for words.

* * *

><p>"...what is your emergency?"<p>

"I know where the escaped convict Isabel Kabra is," Mr. McIntyre said clearly.

* * *

><p>Minnie's eyes widened. When she finally got her voice back, she spat out one word, "You."<p>

Seeing she was about to pounce, Andy quickly intervened. However, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop her if she chose to leap onto her estranged father. He was still sore from where the bullets had hit, and still slightly bleeding.

"Before you do anything, Min, keep in mind that your father probably saved my life," he said quickly.

"What?" she asked curiously, turning to her father. "You did?"

"Yes, I did. I'm also sorry for the email. I couldn't put you in danger." He tilted his head in Isabel's direction. "She couldn't find out."

Andy didn't know what was going through Minnie's head, but he was sure she was close to forgiving her father.

* * *

><p>"Did you call the police?" Fiske asked the other man with him.<p>

"Yes. They'll be there soon," Mr. McIntyre answered.

"Good," Fiske said, frowning slightly. _I hope soon enough..._

* * *

><p>"Well..." Minnie didn't know what to say. Her father stood right in front of her-the man who had been absent for her whole life. Her best friend was beside her, and he had said her father saved his life. Her father said he had been trying to protect her by making her think that he hated her.<p>

She was still mad at him, but for a different reason. That reason was because she felt that since he risked his life to save Andy's, she should cut him a little slack. But the question in her mind was: Why didn't you want me in the first place?

It was totally random and off-topic, but she felt that every child whose father or mother left them willingly deserved to know.

She spoke over the lump in her throat. "So why now? Why do you care all of a sudden?"

_You weren't there. You were _never_ there!_

He looked pained. "I was young. I was stupid. It was very foolish-I don't know what I was thinking. But as soon as your mother left with you, I realized how much I truly loved both of you. But I thought it was too late to get you back. Then Alexander came along and I found you again."

Everyone did their best not to look or eavesdrop too much.

Meanwhile, Andy slowly crept away, giving the two much needed privacy, wincing at the pain in his chest. He knew that if the bullets had actually entered his body, it would hurt a whole lot more.

He started to stand. His knees were a little wobbly. He managed to cross the space between him and his father, and then he hugged him. "Thanks," he said quietly. "You saved my life."

Ian, though a little shocked, smiled and hugged him back. "You're welcome."

"So how did you three find us?" Amy asked.

"That'll be because of me," a new voice said from the doorway.

Amy and Dan turned, their identical eyes widening at the figure.

Sinead, Hamilton and Jonah grinned. The siblings were about to be reunited with their uncle.

"Fiske?" Dan gasped, recovering from the shock of seeing him alive first.

Amy grinned widely, tears in her eyes. They both hugged him (Dan poked him several times to make sure his uncle wasn't dead, much to Fiske's annoyance). Amy was the only one who cried. (Sure, Dan and Fiske had tears in their eyes, but Amy was full-out blubbering.)

"B-but D-Dan said that you were d-dead," Amy said, finding it hard to speak.

"That was because the Madrigals suspected that Isabel had supporters whom would aid in the breakout," Fiske answered. "In order to make sure she didn't cause much harm, I had to go into hiding."

"So you knew that she was going to hurt people?" Andy suddenly appeared beside them. "So you could have saved Stephan?" The boy's voice was shocked. He was finally going to learn the full truth about his friend's death.

"I assume you are Alexander," Fiske nodded, leaving Amy and Dan to wonder how he knew about Andy.

"Andy," the boy corrected.

"Well Andy, Stephan's death was not the Madrigals' fault. We thought that Isabel would try to take you out herself, that's why we had first assigned Sinead and Hamilton to you and Minerva's school. If we had known, we would have saved him."

Andy was assured by the tone of his voice. That didn't stop the hurt of seeing your friend being murdered before your eyes by your psycho granny. He was silent for a while, and Amy wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

"So you knew about Andy?" Dan asked suddenly, realizing that his uncle would have if he'd been keeping tabs on Andy.

"I held him in my arms," Fiske replied simply. "He was the first born of two branches. This was what the Madrigals aimed for-a link to two branches. He holds the serum."

There was a silence. Everyone had heard what Fiske had said and came together, puzzled at the words the elderly man had just spoken.

"What?" Dan asked frowning.

Sinead pondered over the words, and seemed to get what Fiske had said. "The Lucian part, right?"

"Yes," Fiske nodded.

"Back up," Hamilton said, blinking, trying to comprehend.

"You're saying," Ian began slowly, "that you...put the serum...into my son?"

"Awesome," Dan breathed, a grin growing upon his face.

Amy paled, her grip on Andy tightening.

"It's pretty smart," Sinead nodded. "That way it would be near impossible for anyone to steal it."

"Unless they got his blood," Natalie pointed out.

"Ah, that." Fiske smiled. "That was my idea. You see, the only way you can get the serum successfully is the first time, and that time, you have to give it willingly, and you have to get a rather large amount, and then extract the serum. If you do that with the others who have the serums, then you can have the full thing."

"And Isabel knew," Jonah breathed. "How did she know, dude?"

"We have a mole in our Madrigal operation," Fiske admitted. "So the others, the ones who have the serum, their names are top secret, or any of their identifying details."

"So..." Amy glared. "Those children, they're just guinea pigs? They're just used for the benefit of the Madrigals?"

"No," Fiske said. "They're for the benefit of the _world_. Alexander can still have a normal life. No one will be able to get the serum from him anymore. He also doesn't have the whole thing. The rest of the serum will be given to another."

"My sister?" Andy guessed.

Everyone turned to him.

"Your sister?" Amy repeated.

"Your sister?" Fiske and Dan cried.

"Whoa," Jonah, Sinead and Hamilton breathed.

"I have a daughter too?"

"NO!" Amy cried. "I only had one child, and that was Andy, thank you very much. Andy, what made you think you had a sister?"

"I saw..." Andy trailed off, remembering the pretty red-haired and jade eyed girl that looked very much like his mother. "Maybe I was just hallucinating," he continued uncertainly.

* * *

><p><strong>Ha ha! No cliffhanger for you!<strong>

**If you still don't understand the whole serum-blood thing, review and say so, and I'll try to straighten things out in the next chapter.**

**This is not the end people! I've still got TWO MORE CHAPTERS and many of you want a sequel.**

**Now, I just want to say **thank you to my friend _Latifa_ (my 3rd favourite Elf), my brother _Alejandro_, my amazing beta _Alex_ and to _all of you_ who read this!** Thanks so much for your support. Now this is starting to sound like the story's over, so I'll stop and leave these all for the last chapter.**

**Now, you have any questions or just want to say something, that's what that little button under this is for. :)**

**Hunter**


	22. Before The End

**Sorry about the wait again, but I'm already done the next chapter, so it'll be posted soon. I can't believe that this is the end!:-;( It's bittersweet.  
><strong>

**Hope you enjoy!**

"Oh my gosh, Andy! Thank God you are alright!" Minnie told her friend. "I was so worried! So was my mom!"

"How did you find out about everything?" Andy asked her quizzically.

Minnie grinned. "It wasn't that hard. I remembered that, in your email, you said you had a friend named Stephan, so that's were I started. Then I found he died, and the next article was about Isabel, and I noticed how much you two looked alike. After some research, I found out that she was your grandmother and that was what lead me to my father, and then back to the emails."

"So what did you do?" Andy asked her, impressed.

Minnie's grin widened. "I sent my dad an extremely _worded_ email."

Andy had to laugh at that. "So how did Hamilton get you to come here?"

Minnie shrugged, and replied: "I went out for a walk and Fiske found me. He told me I _had_ to come, and of course, since you're my best friend, I came. My mom's going to be mad."

Andy could already imagine Liz's expression. "Yeah, she will be," he agreed.

"So what is this 'branch' that your aunt was talking about? What 'branch' am I in?"

"The Lucians," Andy answered. He went on to explain to her about the Cahills. After he was finished telling her what he knew of them, Minnie's eyes were wide in surprise.

"So that's the serum? The serum's _in_ you? I don't understand."

Andy sighed, "Fiske wanted to keep it safe. The Vespers were stealing things from the Cahills all the time. The serum was too important to loose. He added something to the serum so that if the Vespers or anyone wanted to get it, the person the serum was in had to give it up willingly. Isabel knew I would do anything for the safety of my family, so she used me and my family to get the serum from me."

"But that blood on the shirt- wasn't it enough?"

Andy shook his head. "Fiske wanted to make it even more difficult. You have to get a lot. And I mean _a lot_."

He paused for a moment, and continued, "Then you have to take the serum from the blood."

"Oh." Minnie frowned. "That sounds painful."

"And my parents are really mad at Fiske," Andy sighed, "even my mom, though she's grateful he isn't dead."

Minnie was still slightly confused by the whole family. It was quite large and too much for a ten-year-old to take it all at once. But, she promised herself, she would learn. If any of the Vespers ever came after her because her best friend was Alexander Cahill, she vowed she would be ready.

* * *

><p>"So," -Hamilton looked around at his family members-"I guess we'd all best be going."<p>

"Thank so, _so _much for all of your help, you three." Amy couldn't hide the wide smile that broke across her face.

Dan cleared his throat. Amy ignored him.

"No problem-o, Amy-o." Hamilton grinned at her.

"I just wish we could've gotten here sooner," Sinead said. "Maybe then Andy wouldn't be hurt."

"He doesn't look very hurt," Flannigan observed, his eyes rarely straying from his daughter.

* * *

><p>It seemed as if Andy was catching Minnie up on the Cahill. Flannigan sighed. This was the first time he'd met her, and he didn't want to let her go. Of course, that meant a conversation with Liz –if you could call trying to explain yourself while not getting beaten up by a girl a 'conversation'- was inevitable. He wasn't even sure if Minnie would want her father in her life, after the ten years that he'd missed. Though, he had to thank Alexander. If it wasn't for him, it would've taken him much longer to get the nerve to meet her – if he'd ever managed to get the nerve in the first place.<p>

Ian smiled knowingly at Flannigan. It wasn't a joyous smile (though he was quite happy his son was safe), but rather one of pity. He had an excuse for missing Andy's growing years, but his comrade had no excuse at all. Flannigan had purposely missed out on Minnie's life. It was his choice, and he fully deserved the girl's cold shoulder. But Ian was sure that she wanted her father in her life.

"She's an amazing girl," Ian told him. "But she needs her father."

Flannigan nodded. "I know...but I've missed so much."

Ian smiled. "So have I. You'll just have to work at it. Just...just be good to her, Ravi."

Ian wasn't the best person at advice. That was all that he could give him.

Flannigan- no, Ravi Patel- nodded. He walked over to Minnie. She gave him a cautious and they started a conversation. Ian heard him laugh. It was a long time since he'd done so.

Andy grinned at them, and walked over to his father.

"You did that, didn't you?" he asked, pointing towards Minnie and Flannigan.

"Yes," Ian replied. "How's the stomach?"

"Fine," Andy answered. "It still hurts, but that's expected. I've been through worse."

"I know you have," Ian sighed. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Andy."

"It's okay," Andy said without thinking. It wasn't okay, though. Andy had always wanted to meet his father, and his father hadn't tried to get to know him-not even contact his mother in those years in which she was gone.

"No, it isn't." Ian frowned. "I should've done a lot of things in my life, but I think not knowing about you was one of the worst mistakes. I should've tried-."

"It's not your fault," a new voice said. They whipped around to see Amy standing here, her arms crossed above her chest and a deep frown on her face. "I should have stayed. Maybe Andy would've been safer. Maybe then everyone's lives wouldn't be miserable because of me."

"No Amy-" Ian tried.

"Ames, what are you talking about?" Dan entered the conversation. "No one was miserable...well maybe Cobra here, but it wasn't your fault. You were using your brain. You were trying to keep your son safe."

Andy smiled at him. Dan's words made his sister noticeably relax.

* * *

><p>"You did good," Dan told Natalie.<p>

She frowned. This was not like Daniel Cahill. Maybe he was bipolar...that would certainly explain the change in mood. But Natalie didn't think so. Maybe it was one of the rare things with him. She decided not to question it any further.

"Thank you," she said, hoping it wasn't a trick. "You also did well."

"Thanks," he grinned. He pointed toward the small family of three. "Aren't they adorable together?"

She glared. "Don't hold your breath, Cahill."

**One more chapter! One more chapter! **

**The more reviews I get, the faster it shall be posted! **

**Thanks to all that reviewed. I hope this chapter explained the blood-serum thing better. If you STILL do not understand, do not hesitate to include that in your review. I'll try the explain it in the NEXT AND FINAL chapter! :)**

_**~HunterofLight123**_


	23. Epilogue: Before the New Beginning

**Hello! Merry Christmas everybody! Here it is-the LAST chapter. I just might add another one just for acknowledgments. Thanks to everyone that reviewed-there's 2OO! How AWESOME is that? I love you all, really. Thanks sooo much. You all just made my Christmas even brighter. :) Well, to repay you all, here's the chapter you've all been waiting for!**

* * *

><p><strong>ANDY<strong>

Here I am, aged eighteen, typing this so that you'll know my story. How I was kidnapped and how I was nearly killed. The story of what happened in my bittersweet tenth year, when I met my father for the first time.

Now, I'd better catch you up with what happened in the past eight years.

Mom and Dad got married, and we moved to London. My little sister, Adrienne, was born there. She looks like mom—like the girl I saw when I was locked in that cell. She's six and a half now, and a bundle of mischief. Aunt Natalie loves her, and she takes every opportunity to spoil her rotten. Adrienne's not spoiled—Mom and Dan made sure of that.

Since she was born, Dan set up Addy with her first video game. She isn't as good as I am, I'll say.

Addy's got short red hair, which I know will become much longer in the future. Her eyes are so pretty and light jade, but somehow, she's got a few freckles sprinkled on her nose. She's a good kid, and we're close as siblings can be.

Minnie? After Isabel was back in jail (for good I hope), Flannigan went to Vancouver and made amends with Liz. Minnie and kept touch for a couple of years, but we soon lost it, and I was caught up in schoolwork and my Lucian matters.

Oh right, before I go into details about Minnie's life, I'd best tell you about Dora. She's four now, and she's Uncle Dan and Aunt Natalie's little girl. She's as good as me when it comes to video games (maybe even better), and she's so much like her parents. Dora's got dark blonde hair like Dan, but her eyes are amber, like Natalie's. She's adorable, and she hates pink. She likes to wear things of her dad's, although Natalie tried many times to make her girly. Dora's only a few years younger than Addy, and they're really close, almost like sisters.

We all see Nellie at least once a month, since she lives so far away now. She talked about moving closer, but that soon got lost in the mountain of other things that needed to be done. Dora sees Sabrina and Amiens more, since she lives in America and comes up to London every week. Mom and Uncle Dan are still really close, but why wouldn't they be? They were orphaned at a young age, and that brought them closer than ever.

So, let's go back to Minnie.

I graduated the top of my class, which my family was proud of. I was destined to take over the art dealership my grandparents had founded. Addy ran up to me and told me she was proud of me (this was when she was still sweet). So I headed off to university.

I had tons of friends, and one was named Steven, which reminded me of Stephan, who was lost to us. Steven took us all out to this little restaurant his family owned.

There, I saw a girl. She went to the same university we all went to. I saw she had black hair, brown eyes, and Indian looks. Although it was many years after, I still remembered her.

"Minnie?"

Sure enough, she swung around, recognizing me also, "Andy?"

And that's how we renewed our friendship.

* * *

><p>I knew it was a bad idea, but I felt I needed some answers. The answers that only <em>she<em> would be able to answer. I'm sure she wasn't surprised to see me, but then again, Lucians are known for hiding their emotions.

"Hello Alexander," Isabel said smoothly.

I settled myself on the chair in front of her, taking in her appearance. She hadn't aged much in eight years. Isabel still looked beautiful. Her hands and feet were chained up tightly, and she wore an orange jumpsuit.

"Granny." I smiled, enjoying the flair of annoyance she must have felt in that exact moment.

She smiled coldly. "I knew you would come."

"Oh, did you?" I was silent, allowing her to continue.

"You've changed much. You seem to look much more like your father now. The accent helps."

I frowned slightly. Living in London made my Canadian accent disappear and a British one took its place. Addy was born with one, and Dora's is only slight. She tries to mimic my family's voices and her mother's. Dora is not very successful.

"Yes, it would," I said.

"So, what exactly do you need, Alexander?" she asked. I knew she must know what I was going to say. Isabel wasn't dumb.

"Tell me about your mole." I leaned over; making sure that her eyes met mine. This way, I would know if she lied to me or not.

"You have the serum, Alexander." She smiled coldly. "The same amount that I do. Why don't you figure it out?"

"I have no time for your games, Isabel," I growled at her. Losing my temper what exactly what Isabel had been aiming for. "Lives are at stake. The Vespers are back. Do you not care for your branch?"

My thoughts went straight to my friends and family. Adrienne and Dora could die. There was a chance that I might loose Minnie too, and I didn't want to.

"My branch betrayed me," she replied. "Do you think I would care?"

My fist hit the table so hard that it shook. I winched mentally, but physically, I tried hard to control my anger towards this woman. "Tell me Isabel!"

She smirked widely. "How about _no_? Guard! He's unstable!"

I watched her stalk out, but before she reached the door, I called out, "No, wait! At least tell me how I saw Addy that day in the cell."

"Adrienne, your sister?" The satisfaction in her voice increased. She repeated what she had said originally, "You have the serum Alexander. Figure it out yourself."

With a smug smirk, she was gone.

* * *

><p>Isabel just made me so frustrated. Couldn't she just tell me? Why did she want me to figure it out so badly? Maybe the mole was someone that I knew, someone that I trusted with my life. Maybe she wanted my reaction to be so dreadful and angry that she would be proud to call me her grandson. Maybe it had something to do with what the Vespers were planning, and in that case, I had better hurry and uncover the identity of the mole.<p>

It all started with the serum. Maybe if I didn't have it...

But I was a Cahill, what did I expect? There was really nothing one could do in my scenario, I was born into it. Cahills can't help the danger it puts us all in.

I vow to find out the identities of those children with the serum, the ones who were given it unwillingly. The Vespers will be after them. And what is worse is that I don't think they know you can only extract the serum for that person once, and willingly. I still have no idea how Fiske thought it all out.

This is Andy Cahill signing out from his life story. Yes, this is the end of The Secret to Survival.

What _is_ the secret, you ask?

It's love, of course.

* * *

><p><strong>Hello, my name is Adrienne Cahill, Andy's fifteen year old sister. Years have passed since he's written in this, and I'm writing now to say...well...<strong>

**My idiot of a brother has been kidnapped. His wife is pregnant, _and_ he gets kidnapped.**

**But what is even worse is that _I_ have to find him.**

* * *

><p>Dearest Readers,<p>

I must regrettably say that this is the end of 'The Secret to Survival'. Many of you want a sequel, so I'll get started on that. It will be about Adrienne's mission to find her brother, and then multiple times, it will switch to her and Andy's mission to find their cousin, Dora, after she went missing. Hopefully it'll be up soon.

Thanks to my friends Alejandro, Latifa and Abby for continuing to support me in my writing. Also to my friend Kimmy who wordlessly listens to my ramblings about this story and it's sequel. To my awesome Beta Alex who, through thick and thin, continued to work hard on making this story the best she can.

Also, I want to thank all of you for continuing to read this story and loyally reviewing. Thanks so much for giving your opinions. It really helped!

The sequel, 'Thicker Than Water' (or so I'm planning) will be posted soon (I hope).

THANKS AGAIN,

HUNTEROFLIGHT123

P.S. The acknowledgements chapter will be up soon! That's why this shall not be marked as 'complete' just yet. :)

_AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!_


	24. Surprise Sneak Peak

Okay, I can't believe that this story's got 211 reviews! Thanks SOOO much you guys. I can't say how much that means to me, but all I can say it you guys ROCK! As a gift to show how much I appriceate this: SURPRISE!

A special sneak peek of the sequel: THICKER THAN WATER!

Chapter One: Prologue

_Dora's Birthday and…_

.

My name is Pandora. I know you probably already read about my cousins, Andy and Addy. I don't think I'll be as interesting as they are. I have to face it-I'll _never_ be as good as they are, or as attractive as they are.

My mother loved the story of Pandora's Box, and how when all of the world's problems flew out, all she was left with was hope. That was what she always wanted me to remember. _Have hope, Dora. That's why your name is Pandora Hope Cahill - so you will always remember..._

I never knew how much that would help me in the future.

I think that I'm pretty much one color – a sort of orangey-yellow. My hair is dark blonde, which I get from my dad, but I didn't get those beautiful jade eyes like what Addy has. Or those stunning amber-jade eyes like what Andy has. I got stuck with just stupid, plain brown which is occasionally amber, depending on the light. My mom and uncle look amazing with amber eyes, but - it _really _doesn't really suit me, especially since I've got dishwater blonde hair.

Sure, I have my mother's face, which should make me gorgeous, but I have my dad's peachy skin. My mom has forever tried to get me to wear 'girly' clothes, like the ones that Addy wears. She doesn't understand that I don't want to try to be her, because I know I will never be her. She's beautiful, and I'm just Dora. The only thing that I suppose I'm better at than Andy and Addy are video-games. Addy is quite easy to beat, because she is so much like her parents, but Andy seemed to inherit the competitive gamer spark from my dad. I have it too, and when we're playing each other, everyone stops to watch.

I wonder if Andy's little son, Ivan, will be a gamer too. That would be fun. Andy's wife, Minnie, is quite good at video games. Hopefully, Ivan has gets that 'gamer gene' from one of them.

It's about ten months since Addy saved Andy - with the help of Amiens, of course. He visits once in a while, and caught up to all of the Cahill business. Whenever he's here, though, Addy locks herself in her room for hours. She doesn't even talk to him much when he's here. I know that must hurt his feelings. I wish I knew what happened between them (since without him, Addy wouldn't have found Andy, and I KNOW she's grateful for his help) but Addy refuses to tell. She and I are the one of the closest family members in the...well, family. Right after her mom and my dad, and _they're _siblings.

So there I was, on my birthday, sitting on a pillow with a controller in my hand, Andy beside me. I know that both of our faces were scrunched up, gazing intently at the television in front of us. Addy was behind us, leaning forwards. For a second, her dark-red hair blinded me. That second was what Andy used to get ahead. But, he was temporarily distracted by little Ivan's wails. Something that occurred to me once that Ivan's name could be Eye-van, and Minnie's name is Min-E, Addy's name is Ad-D, and Andy's name is An-D – and mine was just Dora. Well, anyway, however you want to pronounce his name, I was thanking the Lord for Ivan as I won the game. I smiled smugly at Andy who in return sent me a death glare.

_Thank God for Ivan_! I cheer in my mind as I win the game. I smile smugly at Andy, who in return sends me a deadly Lucian glare.

Addy grinned at me, and rested an elbow on Andy's head, using her strength to try to push his head down. It's surprising how much they look different.

Andy has short, black hair and light caramel-coloured skin. His eyes are jade green with flecks of amber-brown in them. His mom once said that they were even more beautiful than her eyes - which both my dad and Addy took as an insult, seeing as they all have the same eyes with a slight difference in Addy's.

Addy however, has long, red hair. I have no idea who she got it from, since Aunt Amy's is red-brown. Her skin is lighter than Andy's and her father's, but not as light as my dad and Aunt Amy's. Her eyes are magnificent jade, only a tone or two lighter than Dad's and Aunt Amy's. They are both very beautiful, in my opinion.

Amiens was here too, and so were Sabrina, Aunt Nellie and Uncle Caleb. They said that it was due time they all came for a visit. They all look so much like family.

Uncle Caleb has dark brown hair that's a little on the long side. His eyes are almost identical to Amiens' - a marvelous dark blue like the midnight sky. (I'd love to have _those_ eyes.) Uncle Caleb is also quite the cook. He has many different nationalities, too. His mother was from France, his father Italian, and his grandmother was born and raised in Greece. His accent is mostly French, as he spent his whole life there before he moved to America, and in the process, meeting Aunt Nellie. He's also very distantly related to one of Nellie's ex's. What's his name again? Cleo? No, that's definitely not it.

Sabrina takes after her mother. She loves to dye her hair all different colours. When they were little, she and Addy didn't get along much, but now they are very close. Sabrina used to be a snobby girl, who was a few months younger than Andy - and I suspect she had a crush on him, just like a surprising number of girls did - but now she's very bubbly. Addy tells me she suspects that Sabrina's found that 'special someone'. Right now, Sabrina's hair is dark with blue streaks. She has brown eyes. She is quite pretty with high-cheekbones like her father and a wide smile that shows off all of her white teeth.

Aunt Nellie's got dark hair that falls into some wacky-hairdo that she styled it in. It really suits her. Aunt Nellie never grew out of her punk side, and sadly, passed that onto Amiens. She and Sabrina have the same dark-chocolate eyes. Aunt Nellie was a very good friend of my dad's and Aunt Amy's. She took care of them when they were younger, and she also saved them countless times. I've always loved Aunt Nellie.

Amiens was born around the time that Nellie was just getting over her obsession over Shakespeare, but she hadn't been over it completely. She named the poor boy after one of Shakespeare's characters, Amiens. That prompted a series of bullying that started from a young age. Addy met Amiens a year ago, while on a mission to save her 'dreadfully idiotic older brother', as she put it. Well, I have to hand it to her; it was a stupid idea to go after Vespers when you just found out that your wife was pregnant. It makes sense how Andy is not an Ekaterina. Aunt Amy swears that he got his 'quick thinking' from my dad, his Uncle Dan. Of course, my dad's 'quick thinking' mostly always left Aunt Amy and him into very sticky situations, and she says that it's thanks to _her_ quick thinking that got them out. Amiens is someone whom we Americans call 'emo'. I taught Addy that word, and I regretted it. He had already tried to end his life once, but thank god that he failed.

Addy told me she once that she now hates all Owens in the world and begged Andy not to name his son that. Andy really wanted to name Ivan that, but changed his mind after Addy 'nicely' shrieked at him and nearly beat him up with her high-heeled shoe. Don't ask. She hadn't explained why she hates the name Owen.

The second time that Amiens nearly died, he swore was an accident. There, Addy learned that in America, the number was _nine-one-one_.

And then Sabrina blamed Addy, and somehow they were friends after that. I found it strange.

Why _did _Addy keep avoiding Amiens? Maybe it had to do with an 'Owen'?

I have to ask Amiens what's going on, I decided.

So I went after him. I swore I saw him enter the maze. I knew that Sabrina and Amiens _loved_ the maze. They said it was a good way for them to test their Ekaterina knowledge. So I ran after him.

How was I supposed to know that he was long gone, already finding a shortcut in which he followed, resulting on him already being in the middle of the maze while I had just started? How was I to know that Vespers were inside that very maze, trying to find him, but found me instead?

I didn't.

And I realized, as I was knocked unconscious, that I had walked right into their trap.

* * *

><p>"I hate you," I spat at the person before me.<p>

"All Cahills hate Vespers," Slasher answered.

I glared, then thought of a good comeback.

"Well, my grandfather Arthur was a Vesper, and he fell in love with my grandmother Hope," I said. "She loved him too, and they had my father and his older sister Amy." Then I thought of something else. "My other grandmother was a Vesper too, and I don't think that she hated her children."

Slasher looked like he wanted to hit me, but thankfully, he wasn't allowed to.

"I don't know why we have to keep you alive," he growled, "or why we can't just duct-tape your mouth closed."

I grin. "I know why. Because your boss gave you strict orders. Keep me alive."

He smirked then. "But then again, he said nothing about duct-taping your mouth."

I bet that Addy and Andy wouldn't have my luck. Andy would know when to keep his mouth shut, and Addy would talk them out of it.

So here I am - in a cage like the pandas at the zoo, with my mouth taped shut and metal cuffs around my hands and feet. Dirt is on every inch of my body, and my hair is a mess.

I am a caged panda. But I am not without hope.

* * *

><p>You know about me. You know my name, and who my parents are. My life - but that does NOT mean you know <em>who<em> I am. What I would do. You do not know _me_.

I wish I could say that to these Vespers. Most of all, to _Slasher_.

I hate him.

I hate him.

I hate him.

Maybe even as much as Addy hates Owens for a remarkably unknown reason because Addy cannot keep secrets unless they are really important.

I _am_ Dora though. I _am_ stupid. I _am_ NOT brave.

Just plain, ugly, video-game obsessed Dora, stuck in a cage. Like a caged Panda that you can see in zoos. Like that. Just like that.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>…Addy In America<span>_**

**10 Months Before**

**Hello Big D,**

**It's Addy. In America. I never thought that I would go here without anyone with me. Sure, I planned to...in the future, but NOT to save my idiot of a brother Andy. **

**He's SOOO stupid!**

**Mum says that I have to be the one to look for him in America. She or Uncle Dan would go, but Dan wants to stay to protect his daughter if the Vespers become a threat to her. He wants us all to stay together, so Dan, Dora and Natalie are currently staying in our guest rooms in our London home. Mum is depressed over losing Andy. She can't go anywhere. Liz Jacobs has gone to help her out. They used to be quite close when Minnie and Andy were kids.**

**Dad doesn't feel good leaving her, or letting me go in his place, but Nellie swore she's make sure no harm came to me.**

**Yes, Nellie. Nellie Gomez, now Parks.**

**Oh right. And now that Minnie's pregnant, she needs Mum and Liz even more, AND Andy, but the git-boy was too frightened at the aspect of becoming a father, so he got Langley to send him on a mission, in hopes of clearing his mind. He didn't plan on getting kidnapped, but hey, no one ever does, do they?**

**So I called Langley. I ordered him to give me information on the whereabouts of my brother, but he didn't know where he was.**

**What good is that boy these days?**

**He did tell me something useful though. :) That's my Lucian grin. (I wish I was a Lucian instead of a Madrigal. But since Andy's got the serum, HE gets to be the Lucian in the family.) Well, anyways, the useful thing he told me was: Open up Andy's 'The Secret to Survival' and READ! **

**So I did.**

**I hacked into his computer. The password was easy to break (GET-AWAY-FROM-MY-COMPUTER-ADDY!). I opened up his Word Documents, and sure enough I saw 'The Secret to Survival' by Alexander Cahill. And I read.**

**I don't understand HOW the baboon (Andy) saw me, that's for sure. I'm magnificent, but I regrettably must say I cannot go back in time. Insert Lucian sigh here.**

**When I was done reading, and I was about to exit out of it, a message popped up.**

**DONE READING ADDY?**

**I blinked, and clicked 'yes'.**

**Another message popped up:**

**GOOD. IF YOU'RE READING THIS, THAT MEANS I'VE DISAPPEARED OR DIED. RIGHT?**

**There were two choices, 'RIGHT!' or 'LEFT!'.**

**Andy was so weird. I clicked 'RIGHT'.**

**OH. WELL IN THAT CASE, TELL EVERYONE I'M SORRY.**

**There was no choice for that, but the next message popped up soon after. **

**ESPECIALLY MINNIE!**

**I grinned.**

**WELL ADDY, MY LAST MISSION WAS TO FIND THE SERUM HOLDERS. I MUST TELL YOU I CAN'T TELL YOU ANYTHING YET...IN CASE VESPERS ARE READING THIS TOO. SO, SORRY ABOUT THIS.**

**A blinking red message showed up.**

**VERIFY THAT YOU ARE ADRIENNE GRACE CAHILL! THREE QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ANSWERED CORRECTLY OR NO INFORMATION WILL BE GIVEN.**

**I started to panic. What type of questions were these?**

**Sorry Big D, but I can't tell you any of the questions because they were VERY embarrassing and were about what I did when I was young. No need to embarrass myself. :)**

**I answered all of them correctly, and the message was: **

**GO VISIT AMERICA, WOULD YOU? YOUR ENEMIES' MOTHER SHOULD BE HAPPY TO HAVE YOU.-ANDY**

**I sure knew what he meant. My enemies were Amiens and Sabrina Parks. It's a long story, so it shall be considerably shortened. **

**Amiens**** thought it would be funny to lock me in a closet. So he got Sabrina and Langley in on it, and they together locked me in a closet for five hours until my parents saw I was missing. I was six years old. My parents were cooing over Andy and Minnie's relationship (I thought it was disgusting at that time.) so they didn't notice that their angel was gone for quite a long time.**

**I was LOCKED in a EXTREMELY small room, for FIVE HOURS, in the DARK, with a strange ANIMAL! I still have no idea what that animal was. **

**I was screaming my lungs off, and banging on the door as Sabrina, Amiens, Langley and my family stuffed their faces with food and forgot all about me.**

**Until beautiful, kind, _amazing_ Dora cried for her cousin to come play with her.**

**Thank God for Dora, because as soon as my parents noticed that I was not playing with the butler, or the cook, or the maid or any of the people who worked for us, Sabrina broke and told them where they had locked me. The (insert inappropriate word here) had TOTALLY forgot that they had locked me up in a CLOSET for FIVE freaking hours!**

**And from then on, I was claustrophobic.**

* * *

><p><strong>Now enough about my past. Here I am, just getting off of the plane, waiting to see Aunt Nellie for the first time since that 'incident'. She and Sabrina know everything about Andy being missing, but... :}-my Lucian SMIRK.<strong>

**Little Amiens Parks has NO CLUE.**

**This is the perrrr-fect time for my revenge.**

**Excuse my evil talk. Jet Lag has finally gotten the better of me. **

**Before I start to sound like Isabel Kabra, I'd best go.**

**-**_**-ADRIENNE**_

* * *

><p>Who is Slasher? you wonder.<p>

Well, he's an idiot. And a Vesper. And also a disgusting, old man.

Okay, maybe not that old—maybe around his forties—but he's evil. EVIL, I tell you!

He really enjoys his knives. And he has scars on his face and hands that I just assumed came from them. He's pretty good at handling them too. He's better than any Cahill I've seen at them.

Did I just say that? I practically complimented a Vesper!

Maybe sitting alone in this cage is getting to me.

* * *

><p>I'm sooo happy!<p>

My first story is FINALLY going to be marked as COMPLETE.

Thanks to all of the reviewers. I LOVE YOU ALL!

-Hunter


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